April 17-18, 2020

Apr 17 02:15 Sen. Schumer's shutdown to Speaker Pelosi's PPP problems
Apr 17 03:37 Tim Walz's constitutional dilemma
Apr 17 10:34 What's important to Pelosi
Apr 17 21:15 Tim Walz's COVID-19 briefing notes

Apr 18 09:47 Jim Abeler's best speech
Apr 18 13:47 Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi to Blue Collar America: Go to hell
Apr 18 16:35 Here's what Dems think of you
Apr 18 20:20 Can Biden unite Democrats?
Apr 18 21:20 Biden adviser Redlener: let's wait until August to reopen economy

Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar

Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Sen. Schumer's shutdown to Speaker Pelosi's PPP problems

When Chuck Schumer shut down the government for a weekend, he suffered a political backlash that likely cost him the Senate majority. It was one of the dumbest political stunts in political history. (Read more about it here .) As bad as Schumer's Shutdown was for Senate Democrats, Pelosi's Payroll Protection Program, aka PPP, will make Schumer's Shutdown seem like a little turbulence.

When the SBA account ran dry Thursday afternoon, Pelosi took to TV to brag about shutting down those businesses . When she was asked on C-SPAN why she let the PPP run out of money, she stuttered:


Here is Pelosi bragging that Democrats shut down small businesses nationwide:
[Video no longer available]
How tone-deaf is Pelosi? It's possible that she's the most tone-deaf politician in U.S. history. After watching this, wouldn't you agree?


Middle class families' lives hang in the balance and she's playing Marie Antoinette. How heartless is she? How spineless are Democrats like Debbie Dingell, Adam Schiff, Dean Phillips and Angie Craig? Thursday afternoon, Craig said that she's working hard after hearing that the PPP ran out of money. Apparently, Craig didn't think that criticizing Pelosi for letting the fund dry up was her responsibility. Then again, Phillips is MIA on this. How's that fit into his resume of being a vital part of the Problem Solvers Caucus? Phillips has been MIA within the Problem Solvers Caucus, too.

Pelosi just ate the economic downturn by shafting small businesses and their employees. It isn't likely that they'll let Pelosi or Democrats off the hook for that decision. Further, voters shouldn't let Democrats off the hook for not listening to Main Street.

Posted Friday, April 17, 2020 2:15 AM

No comments.

Tim Walz's constitutional dilemma

Tonight, I got another update on COVID-19 from Gov. Walz. I was informed that "Governor Tim Walz joined the governors of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky in announcing that they will work in close coordination to reopen the economy in the Midwest." Further, the governors issued a statement saying "Here in the Midwest, we are bound by our commitment to our people and the community. We recognize that our economies are all reliant on each other, and we must work together to safely reopen them so hardworking people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet."

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine already announce that he's opening up Ohio's economy on May 1. Minnesota's economy won't open until at least May 4, if not later. Further, it might not be entirely up to Gov. Walz on when Minnesota's economy opens up. What happens if some out-of-state patients insist that they want to get treated at the Mayo Clinic?

That isn't Gov. Walz's call because the U.S. Constitution states that the federal government determines the rules for interstate commerce. That's beyond a governor's authority.

According to the email update, "Governor Walz's number one priority has been, and will remain, the health and safety of Minnesotans. As we look to reopen Minnesota's economy, we will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education." I'm so relieved to learn that. For a minute, I thought Gov. Walz was one of those greedy profiteers that don't care about their employees. Seriously, Gov. Walz has been exposed, especially by this video:
[Video no longer available]
A few days ago, Gov. Walz insisted that Minnesota needed to provide 5,000 tests per day, the Mayo Clinic stepped forward with this proposal:

Within one day of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz requesting 5,000 COVID-19 tests per day before the state can start reopening businesses, a top Mayo Clinic doctor said his team can meet that capacity, and then some. Dr. William Morice is the chair of the Mayo Clinic's Department of Laboratory Medicine. He says the clinic can produce 8,000 swab tests and 10,000 blood tests within a few weeks of getting the green light from state and public health officials.

"Really we started working on our first diagnostic testing in early February when we were getting signals from China that this was going to be difficult to manage," Morice said. The swab test checks for a diagnosis, while the blood test checks for antibodies, which would suggest the patient has recovered from coronavirus, perhaps without showing any symptoms.

Will Walz blow this test, too? He shut down Minnesota's economy for essentially no reason. He's cost hundreds, if not thousands, of people their life savings by shutting their businesses down. It's too early to tell how much damage was done to small businesses.

Gov. Walz is as clueless on the economy as he is on the Constitution. It's a shame we couldn't find a real governor.

Posted Friday, April 17, 2020 3:37 AM

Comment 1 by Lori at 17-Apr-20 11:59 AM
Open MN before this beautiful state is run into the ground!

Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Apr-20 08:24 PM
I'm working on it.

What's important to Pelosi

While families lose their life savings and small businesses go bankrupt at Depression-era rates (and 22,000,000 lose their jobs in a month), Nancy Pelosi's $24,000 freezer know what's most important:


San Francisco's Marie Antoinette hasn't flinched since the Paycheck Protection Plan, aka PPP, ran out of money. Let's examine Ms. Pelosi's history of destruction. The first time, when they were negotiating the creation of the PPP, Pelosi insisted that funding for the Kennedy Center and the National Institutes for the Arts and the National Institutes for the Humanities be funded. That helped delay funding for families by a week.

This time, Pelosi and Schumer are calling "for 'further changes' to the Paycheck Protection Program, plus 'significantly increased' funding for disaster grants and loans, plus 'additional support' for the food-stamp program, plus 'adequate funding' for nationwide virus testing and personal protective equipment." Thus far, she's held small businesses hostage over these minor details.

While small businesses go bankrupt, Pelosi eats $12 a pint ice cream from her $24,000 freezer. While I don't begrudge Pelosi and her husband the wealth that they've accumulated, I've got a problem with leaders who don't pay attention to the people they're supposed to serve. What's frustrating is that that's just part of her path of destruction. Kim Strassel writes "Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed President Donald Trump during a private call with her caucus Monday, saying he was putting Americans in grave danger if he rushes to reopen the economy at the end of this month," reported Politico this week. The article laid out Mrs. Pelosi's requirement: Until a robust 'testing and contact tracing' system is in place, 'it would be impossible for the president to guarantee Americans a safe reentry into their normal life.'"

Michiganders protesting in Lansing might not care about "a safe reentry into their normal life." They might be willing to accept a tiny bit of risk to return to work. Then there's this:

Congressional Democrats are meanwhile debating their "own plan to reopen the nation," said Politico, with legislation that would ask "each state to submit a plan' and that "would also require adequate testing and contact tracing to prevent a second outbreak." The Washington Post reports that "Trump has been so insistent on the reopening that some officials worry only a narrow window exists to provide information to change his mind or to ensure that the effort to reopen does not significantly add to the country's rising number of infections and deaths."

Pelosi is misreading this situation terribly. She's pretending that she's negotiating from a position of strength. She tried that against Mitch McConnell over impeachment rules. That negotiation flopped miserably. She got nothing out of it except terrible headlines. This won't end any differently. The good news is that she's dragging her caucus down with her. That likely means that Kevin McCarthy will be the next Speaker, starting in 2021.

Good riddance to Speaker Pelosi. She's been hurting Blue Collar America for decades.

Originally posted Friday, April 17, 2020, revised 21-Apr 8:05 PM

Comment 1 by eric z at 17-Apr-20 04:11 PM
I offer no defense of Pelosi, Hoyer, or Clyburn. Or Schumer. Has the GOP tried running a sound candidate against any of the four?

Why not?

But when looking at House leadership; your guy, Paul Ryan. He quit. Gave it up.

Do you know what he's doing now for cashflow? I tried a bit of web search, and best I found was Wikipedia saying he first did some broadcasting job, then gained a faculty position at Notre Dame. Not having to do food stamps. I expected K-Street, but could not find it was so. Do you know?

Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Apr-20 08:24 PM
I'm guessing he's working for some think tank in WI. That's more of what he's into.

Tim Walz's COVID-19 briefing notes

It's painful watching a Tim Walz COVID-19 briefing. During today's briefing, Minnesotans were essentially told that it took Gov. Walz more than a month to figure it out that going fishing didn't violate social distancing guidelines. My niece and nephew knew that before they started kindergarten. It took our governor more than a month to figure that out? That's frightening.

At today's briefing, we were told by Dr. Hick that COVID-19 cases "occupy more and more hospital beds" before being told that he's grateful for the time that Gov. Walz has bought "to manage that flow of patients into the system." What Dr. Hick didn't mention was that Mayo is at 35% of capacity. Meanwhile, Minnesota's economy is getting crushed. Dr. Hick mentioned the possibility of "a large volume of patients later this summer."
[Video no longer available]
According to Dr. Hick, Minnesota "has come together in a way to support building out a plan that accommodates a surge of COVID-19 patients into our system that is unprecedented." That's good to hear but that does nothing to help the small businesses in Alexandria, Anoka, Little Falls, Melrose, Moorhead or Morris. Gov. Walz still hasn't lifted a finger to jump-starting Minnesota's economy.

It's time for Gov. Walz to stop paying so much attention on testing. According to Dr. Fauci this afternoon, testing isn't that important to getting America working again. Further, it's time to stop treating this like a deadly disease for young, healthy adults. Approximately 90% of COVID decedents in Minnesota died in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, which means that we should start opening Minnesota up ASAP.

At this point, Gov. Walz should be nicknamed Gov. Shutdown. Last year, Walz virtually shut down the government over the budget bill. This year, he's shut Minnesota's economy down singlehandedly. There isn't a single Republican finger on this shutdown. Period.

Check back Saturday for another article that's related to the shutdown. It's a different take on things and what's missing in the shutdown discussion.

Posted Friday, April 17, 2020 9:15 PM

No comments.

Jim Abeler's best speech

Minnesota State Sen. Jim Abeler gave a speech this past week that is essential reading for Minnesota Republicans. Here is the text of Sen. Abeler's speech:
Mr. President, Members, and Governor Walz,

I have the privilege of standing in this historic chamber doing my best to make a difference the people who rely on me. It is an honor and a very high responsibility.

This is a very difficult speech to give.

I have two important points to make.

First, I am critically concerned about what is happening to Main Street and side street families and the livelihoods of those who are suddenly forbidden to work and can't even get their boat out of storage or dock installed.

This is not a partisan debate, even though some would attempt to paint it so. A number of DFL legislators have publicly or privately agreed with me. As you know, there is great political pressure for members of any governor's party to quietly "support their governor" even when they strongly disagree. This is how it is in both parties, unfortunately.

Governor, as you began your term, I told you I would work with you to help Minnesota. Please consider my comments as candid words from a friend.
I suggest a new doctrine to guide the reopening of Minnesota. Constrained optimization. Constrained optimization.

Start reopening small and safe places and then go bigger. And begin today.

Minnesota families are interested in the safety of their neighbors and their town. They are deeply frightened about Covid-19 for their elders, their families, and themselves. And it shows.

They are good people. They care about Minnesota as much as you do. These are the locals who contribute to the middle school girls' softball team. The ones who always give a door prize for the church bazaar. The Rotarians who always seek to help others. The people who make me proud to know them.

They have been shocked with the dozens of executive orders that have rained down over the past few weeks. They were stunned when their safe workplace was ordered locked.

Had they been asked, given the gravity of this situation, they would have stayed home, instead of needing the threat of a thousand dollar fine and prison. Had they been asked, they would have made heroic efforts to make their small business very safe for their fellow townspeople. They would have likely come up with ideas nobody in government has thought of even yet.

Your own modeling shows that we are well ahead of earlier grave projections. We have flattened the curve and built capacity to cover health care needs of the emergency we are facing together.

However, those gains could have happened without great personal expense for so many. There has been very much needless collateral damage inflicted on those who were already extremely low risk.

Main Street is dying. It's little mom and pop stores aren't powerful corporations. They can't pay their bills. My Anoka Chamber President tells me that time is running out for these businesses to survive. In these executive orders, they are being cast off like chaff.

Reopening Anoka's automated car wash will add no deaths. Reopening Anoka's Greenhaven unmanned golf course will endanger nobody. Allowing the local shoe and clothing stores to reopen is at least as safe as Walmart.

There should be simple guidelines that they can follow, and they are poised to do that.

No lives will be sacrificed to accomplish this. Allowing these re-openings is consistent with epidemiologist Mike Osterholm's views that we have to find a way to resume some semblance of normalcy while Covid-19 is still around. I agree with him.

My townspeople are going to continue social distancing even after the executive order expires. They will follow safe guidelines and the vulnerable people will stay home.

The next state budget forecast will predict a huge devastating deficit. My personal estimate is at least $5 billion deficit. If we stay closed unnecessarily long, the deficit will be greater. We are going to need these good Minnesotans to be part of the recovery and rebuilding.

Please let them work. Constrained optimization. Start small and safe today.

My second point is why are we here? Our legislative process is decidedly broken.

The opaque method that brought this bill to the Senate Floor is too common of a practice. It is not good for Minnesota. This also happened just two weeks ago, last year, and in 2018. This dangerous pattern must be broken.

And specific to this bill, it adds to the centralization of power. I have a lot of respect for Commissioner Malcolm. However, we are awarding her the authority to suspend all or parts of 20 chapters of law including quarantine protections, without legislative approval. It is too much power for any one person.

It is time to return to the separation of powers that has made Minnesota so great for over 160 years. A thoughtful, collaborative governor. An inclusive legislature. A transparent process that includes the people we represent.

At the train crossing by my house, there are two red lights that flash when the train comes. Governor Walz visited there last year. We know to stop when those lights flash.

Hopefully my red light on the board today will warn Minnesota that we need to do better.

Governor Walz, let's start today on constrained optimization. Colleagues, lets commit to a more open process. On both matters, Minnesota will be the winner.

Here is the 'essential section' that Gov. Walz should read and understand:
Main Street is dying. It's little mom and pop stores aren't powerful corporations. They can't pay their bills. My Anoka Chamber President tells me that time is running out for these businesses to survive. In these executive orders, they are being cast off like chaff.

Reopening Anoka's automated car wash will add no deaths. Reopening Anoka's Greenhaven unmanned golf course will endanger nobody. Allowing the local shoe and clothing stores to reopen is at least as safe as Walmart.

Sen. Abeler isn't just talking. He did his homework first. His logic is irrefutable. This is the other essential point that needs to be driven home to Gov. Walz:
My townspeople are going to continue social distancing even after the executive order expires. They will follow safe guidelines and the vulnerable people will stay home.

If I were to give this section of Sen. Abeler's speech a title, I'd give it a title like 'Treat people like adults'. Thus far, Gov. Walz and the DFL have treated Minnesotans like children. The DFL hasn't figured it out that Minnesotans will act in their own best interest by social distancing.

Yesterday, Gov. Walz signed an EO that 'lets' Minnesotans go fishing and golfing. That's nice but it's a shiny object tactic. Too many of the Minnesota businesses are still shut. That must stop immediately.

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020 9:47 AM

No comments.

Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi to Blue Collar America: Go to hell

Guy Benson's article highlights what I'm now calling the 'Democrats' hate Americans agenda.' 22,000,000 people have lost their jobs this past month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed appropriating $250,000,000,000 to the Paycheck Protection Program fund, which started with $350,000,000,000 a month ago and has already run out.

Sen. McConnell's bill was a clean bill to speed assistance to the fund to keep employees on their employers' payrolls. It was an emergency, aka stopgap, measure that was needed to keep businesses afloat. Unfortunately, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are playing hardball while people's lives are literally hanging in the balance. She's even bragging that Democrats blocked the McConnell bill that would've kept millions of employees employed.

That's the definition of heartless. Meanwhile, the MSM is running interference for Democrats:


This isn't a "game of chicken. This is people's lives being put at risk by a POS devil woman from San Francisco who loves playing partisan games with other people's lives. This is a Don't Give A Damn NY Senator saying 'I can't be bothered.'

This isn't a time for partisanship. Look at how much President Trump has worked with Gov. Cuomo, Mayor De Blasio, Gov. Murphy and Gov. Newsom. Pelosi and Schumer, by comparison, have been totally worthless. I don't trust them whatsoever. What's worse is that rank-and-file Democrats haven't stepped forward for their small businesses. They haven't told Pelosi and Schumer to knock their ill-advised tactics off. They've sat in the corner like silent sheep, unwilling to do what's right. Politicians who aren't willing to do what's right, especially during a crisis, are worthless, especially to their small businesses and their employees.

Here's Queen Pelosi's 'Let them eat chocolate ice cream' moment:
[Video no longer available]
What type of person thinks that it's funny to show off their $22,000 freezer filled with $12 per half-pint ice cream right after she essentially put 5,000,000 blue collar workers on unemployment by playing obstructionist partisan games?




Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, these jobs and these livelihoods are solely your responsibility. Had you negotiated in good faith, Blue Collar America wouldn't be hurting as much as it's hurting.

Election Day can't happen soon enough. Mike Huckabee said that "the best form of leadership is servant leadership." That's true. The leadership that Pelosi is practicing isn't servant leadership. It's haughty autocrat leadership.

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020 1:47 PM

No comments.

Here's what Dems think of you

Amanda Marcotte's article didn't pull any punches. It explained to Blue Collar America exactly how Democrats feel about them. Ms. Marcotte started her article by saying "On Wednesday, a crowd of right-wing nuts , complete with their oversized but underworked utility vehicles, Confederate flags, guns and other such overcompensation accoutrements , descended on the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, to whine about the temporary pause to dinners at Applebee's and accidental brushfires at gender-reveal parties. The deep fear of emasculation driving the protest was not particularly subtle at this protest, as the crowd chanted 'Lock her up' at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is accused of no other crime other than making deeply insecure men fuss about a woman in power."

I won't call Ms. Marcotte a member of Fake News. I'll just call her a sloppy journalist who isn't that interested in the truth. Did Ms. Marcotte check this article about how Michiganders of both genders want to throw Gov. Whitmer out of office via a recall election? According to this website , almost 300,000 people have signed the petition. From the article:

Whitmer's critics said the new measures go too far. "Several recent measures provide marginal benefits at best, while substantially heightening frustration and resentment," said Rep. Justin Amash, an independent. Sensible instructions to practice social distancing, wear masks, and stay at home already do most of the work to reduce the virus's spread. By pushing too far, the governor undermines her own authority and increases the likelihood people will not follow reasonable guidelines."

The arbitrary nature of Gov. Whitmer's EO is what's gotten under Michiganders' skin the most. Michiganders understand that they're at risk if they don't religiously practice social distancing and other items on the CDC's list. It's things like being able to go shopping but not being able to buy seeds for their gardens or the part about how out-of-state property owners can visit their cabins but Michiganders can't visit their Michigan cabins.
[Video no longer available]
Ms. Marcotte apparently hasn't figured it out that governing is best done by exercising restraint and good judgment. The fact that Gov. Whitmer is a female is utterly irrelevant to the vast majority of protesters. This is just sloppy BS journalism:

The ostensible purpose of the protests was to pressure Whitmer to relax some of the restrictions on businesses and movement under the coronavirus lockdown. In reality, of course, this is happening because a bunch of Fox News-loving Trump supporters have been poisoned by propaganda that has convinced them the coronavirus is overblown or a hoax, all being spread by the libs to destroy Trump's chances at re-election.

What is Ms. Marcotte's proof for any of her accusations? I'm betting that she doesn't have any. It's like the people who told Karlyn Borysenko, the former Democrat who attended President Trump's rally in Manchester, NH, the night before the Primary. Here's what Professor Borysenko wrote about her liberal friends:

That turned out not to be the case. The more voices outside the left that I listened to, the more I realized that these were not bad people. They were not racists, Nazis, or white supremacists. We had differences of opinions on social and economic issues, but a difference of opinion does not make your opponent inherently evil. And they could justify their opinions using arguments, rather than the shouting and ranting I saw coming from my side of the aisle.

Ms. Marcotte sounds like Professor Borysenko's paranoid friends. Ms. Marcotte also is either dishonest or the sloppiest journalist I've read in ages. It's possible she's both. I know that Ms. Marcotte is full of it when she says that the protesters think that COVID-19 is "overblown or a hoax." That attack was discredited a month ago. Ms. Marcotte should be ashamed for pumping out such BS. The purpose of the protests was to tell Gov. Whitmer to pull her head out of her arse before issuing executive orders.

Why can Michiganders buy produce but they can't buy the seeds to grow their own vegetables? Why can Wisconsinites visit their cabin in Michigan's UP but a Detroit lifelong resident can't visit their cabin in the UP? Ms. Marcotte is long on put-downs and short on compassion.

Ms. Marcotte should attempt to listen to people more and shoot her mouth off less. She wouldn't look like a Pelosi-style partisan if she listened more often.

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:35 PM

No comments.

Can Biden unite Democrats?

Ed Morrissey's post about where the presidential race is at right now is rather revealing. First, Ed points out that "Republican and Democratic voters overwhelmingly favor their party's candidate. Trump holds an early advantage in Republican-leaning states, while Biden has an even wider lead in Democratic-leaning states. In battleground states, neither candidate has an advantage (47% prefer Trump, while 45% favor Biden)."

A Trump 47%-45% lead in the battleground states doesn't sound huge but it's daunting for Biden. Don't forget that Trump won the vast majority of battleground states in 2016, including Hillary's Blue Firewall states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. The only battlegrounds that tipped in Hillary's favor were Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia. Meanwhile, President Trump won Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Then there's this:

Slightly more than half of white voters say they would vote for Trump (55%), while black and Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly likely to say they would vote for Biden if the election were held today (76% and 63%, respectively).

Here's Ed's commentary on that Pew finding:

Ahem. Getting 76% of the African-American vote is not 'overwhelming' for a Democratic presidential candidate - it's disastrous. Biden will need 90% or more of that vote to beat Trump, and he will need an enthusiastic turnout to boot. If Seven Months In The Future Guy (apologies to Gary Cole) showed up tomorrow and told Trump and Brad Parscale that Joe Biden would win 76% of the black vote and 63% of the Hispanic vote, they'd start measuring the Oval Office drapes for Trump's second term now.

Ed says that those numbers won't stay static and I agree. Still, if Biden can't win with large minority turnout and win a high percentage of the minority vote, he's sunk. That would cost him too many votes in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

I don't think that Biden can unite Democrats. I don't think anyone can do that, to be honest. It's like there's 2 distinctly different Democrat Parties. One Democrat Party is timidly socialist. The other Democrat Party is unabashedly socialist. That split's been there for years:
[Video no longer available]
Howard Dean's stump speech used to say that he represents "the Democrat wing of the Democratic Party." He was the frontrunner for Iowa for the better part of 6-8 weeks. Articles were written about his ground game and how they knew where each of their voters lived, etc. On the night of the Caucuses, Dean finished third behind John Kerry and John Edwards. Thereafter, Dean's campaign was chiefly known for "The Scream":
[Video no longer available]
The animosity between the proudly socialist wing of the Democrat Party and the timidly socialist wing of the Party isn't legend. It's real. Plenty of Bernie Bros have already said that they aren't jumping on the 'Joe Train'. Still, it's foolish for Republicans to think Trump's a lock to win re-election. Republicans should run like they're a point behind with a month left until Election Day. With that attitude, there won't be room for complacency.

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020 8:20 PM

No comments.

Biden adviser Redlener: let's wait until August to reopen economy

Dr. Irwin Redlener "directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and is a pediatrician, a professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and president emeritus of Children's Health Fund. He is a member of the Biden Campaign's Public Health Advisory Committee." In this CNN op-ed , Dr. Redlener wrote "even if we assume that sometime this summer, maybe June, perhaps as late as August, the first wave of Covid-19 will have tapered down, the world will likely see a second wave of the deadly virus in the fall or winter, perhaps extending into the early months of 2021."

That's fearmongering of the worst kind. I don't care what alphabet he has behind his name. I wouldn't trust this jackass if my life depended on it. First, COVID-19 is deadly if you're in difficult health or living in a nursing home. Here in Minnesota, that's literally where 90% of Minnesota's deaths have come from. Healthy people 60-years-old and younger have had little difficulty with COVID-19. Calling COVID-19 deadly is technically accurate but it's a little misleading.

Next, we know from Dr. Fauci's briefings that we'll be in much better shape if a second wave hits. Here's what Dr. Fauci said about a week ago on this subject:
[Video no longer available]
Third, waiting until August to start reopening the US economy is stupid. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced that he'll start reopening Ohio's economy on May 1. Dr. Redlener didn't pay attention to the fact that some states are already in far better shape than the hotspot states. Treating Nebraska the same way you treat NYC is downright foolish. That's like treating nuclear waste the same way as you treat recyclables.

We may well see a significant drop in hospitalizations and fatalities by sometime in May or June. But we cannot let up on the only effective tools we have to fight Covid-19: First, we must continue to shut down the venues where we used to gather, including schools, nonessential workplaces, sporting events, theaters and business meetings. And second, we must remain sheltered in our homes, using social distancing and face masks when we do venture out to buy groceries or essential medications.

According to the plan put together by Drs. Fauci, Birx, Adams and Redfield, everything is conditions- and data-driven. Saying that "we must remain sheltered in our homes" is an absolute order. There are tons of activities that people can safely engage in. While it's foolish to think that we can start baseball season to packed stadiums, it isn't foolish to think that it's possible to start with televised games without fans. While it's foolish to open stores without practicing good mitigation practices, it's perfectly fine to open lots of businesses where contact with other humans is infrequent.

Finally, if we wait until the virus has disappeared, there won't be an economy to return to. Let doctors deal with the medical issues. Let economists consult with doctors in putting together a plan for reopening the economy safely.

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020 9:20 PM

No comments.

Popular posts from this blog

January 19-20, 2012

Image
Jan 19 02:57 Minnesota Majority report an indictment against Minnesota's election integrity Jan 19 03:41 Ron Paul's Logic Jan 19 08:08 Newt thrives despite Mitt's hatchet job efforts Jan 19 09:19 Potential Game-Changer: Perry dropping out this am Jan 20 05:12 Newt takes Sen. Santorum to proverbial woodshed Jan 20 00:56 ABC, CNN, crawl into bed with National Enquirer Jan 20 04:00 Child Care small businesses file federal lawsuit Jan 20 04:41 Mitt's biggest policy blunder Jan 20 18:58 Gingrich, Reagan re-united Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Newt takes Sen. Santorum to proverbial woodshed Rick Santorum was really feeling it Thursday night. Then he said something that's certain to cause him pain this morning. Here's what he said that got him in trouble: SANTORUM: But you also have to admit that this freshman congressman who wasn't supposed to win a race came and did something you never did, which is blew the li...
Read more

March 21-24, 2016

Image
Mar 21 01:28 SCSU's budget cuts? Mar 21 02:29 When will the Range change? Mar 21 08:54 DFL's Marty in charge of environment Mar 21 11:45 OLA report, DFL & Meyer Associates Mar 23 12:48 Liberals' definition of moderate Mar 23 14:37 DFL activists: Government is racist Mar 24 08:59 IRRRB: Revamping vs. scrapping Prior Months: Jan Feb Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 SCSU's budget cuts? Cuts in Athletics at SCSU - Will it Really Save Money? by Silence Dogood With a $6,000,000 "structural deficit" and the need to "rebuild reserves by at least $3 million," SCSU has a $9,000,000 hole in its' FY17 budget. It doesn't take a Noble Prize in economics to figure out that reductions in expenditures (i.e., cuts) are going to be made at SCSU. On the Wednesday before Spring Break, SCSU President Dr. Earl H. Potter sent an email to the campus community announcing cuts to the athlet...
Read more

October 31, 2007

Oct 31 01:01 Media Matter's Alter Ego? Oct 31 03:32 Iraqi Civilian Casualties Dropping Oct 31 10:52 Hillary's Panderfest Blows Up in Her Face Oct 31 13:15 Brod, Emmer Call For Investigation of Mark Ritchie Oct 31 19:43 Ritchie's 'Episode' a Tempest in a Teapot? Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Prior Years: 2006 Media Matter's Alter Ego? One Media Matters-like organization is already too many. It appears as though there's another liberal apologist blog out there. Their name is News Hounds . The post that caught my attention dealt with last weekend's interview of Justin and Darryl Sharraltt on Hannity's America. To say that their post didn't attempt to refute Justin's story is understatement. In fact, they jump right into criticizing Mr. Hannity: Last night's (October 27th) Hannity's America was a strange magazine format which combined stories about mediums and haunted houses...
Read more