We are commanded by our so-called experts in this age of the Chinese Corona Crud, to live the enclosed life as a sort of secular anchorite, walled into our little singular cells, supplied by regular deliveries passed in through one narrow passage to the outside, and to spend our days contemplating the televised media worship of the narrative du jour through the window into the shrine of our authoritative masters. Or at least, those who call themselves our masters, although I am certain that’s not the term which they use for themselves. ‘Experts’, ‘scientists’ ‘elected* leaders’ – that’s probably how they term themselves, commanding us to stay at home, eschew social gatherings (although violent BLMAntifa protests are perfectly OK), church services, seeing a movie, getting sit-down dinner inside a restaurant, walking in a public park, hanging out on a beach … all through fear of the rampaging and almost-always-fatal Chinese Corona Crud. To add insult to the injury, those political leaders, to a man, woman and whatever, don’t seem to feel any need to observe their own dictates; traveling freely to their vacation homes, meeting up for holidays with family, going out to supper with friends to the French Laundry, getting haircuts, and omitting the wear of what I’ve begun to call the FFD (the F**king Face Diaper). Really, it’s as if they are getting their jollies out of flaunting their authority and privilege in our FFD’d faces.
It’s just a virus, the sane among us say, those who have been parsing out the occasionally accurate reports, the published figures, and taking stock of our own personal experience. It’s only given to be fatal to the very elderly, those with underlying health conditions – people who ought to be staying home and taking precautions anyway. And if it were all that dangerous a pandemic – then where are the ubiquitous mass graves, the constant dirge of funerals for the young and fit, pages and pages of obituaries and announcements of funerals, friends and friends of friends falling victim wholesale, as in the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, when entire small communities were wiped out within weeks? I look around and I see hardly any of that.
What I do see is a degree of hysteria in the establishment news media – going on as if the Commie Covid Crud were every bit as dangerous as the 1918 Pandemic and guaranteed to be 100% fatal – and deliberately scaring the general public out of their ever-loving minds. Members of my own family in California, who still watch the mainstream media almost religiously have been isolating themselves, hardly ever going beyond their own yards, wearing masks constantly. My sister’s husband still goes to work, regularly – he has that kind of job, but my sister and the rest of her family are pretty much confined to home. The father-in-law of my youngest brother hasn’t left his condo since March, save once a day walk around his patio. I honestly don’t know for how much longer ordinary humans can endure this – the isolation, the constant drumbeat of media panic, the closure of small businesses, the towering arrogance of a disconnected elite.
Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen; how much longer can this state of affairs continue?
*Elected in the sense that ballots were counted, no matter how dubious the ballot or suspicious the means of counting.
Some of us empathize with XKCD, of course.
Still, it drives me nuts when figureheads declaim “Science says” … whatever their policy is to be. Science doesn’t make policy (*).
You use whatever the current state of the science is to try to evaluate risks–and change the evaluation if the results change with new data. And then you make policy based on the current risk evaluation. Of course you try not to whiplash policy changes–people need to plan–but if X isn’t needed, modify the demand for X.
Some transparency would be very useful. If you’re going to set policy for us–show your work. Show your estimates for change in deaths, the estimates for long-term disabilities, the estimate for number with slow recovery (of the dozen I know personally, 3 took about 3 months to recover!), and the job losses and other costs associated with the plan.
And, just as with a war, have a goal. What does winning look like? 0 deaths is not realistic.
(*) I don’t recall ever hearing a scientist say “Science says.” “The data indicate” — that I hear all the time.
Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen; how much longer can this state of affairs continue?
It seems to me that in actual fact it unraveled already, in most areas.
I say that because I think Trump won in a landslide, which was the natural reaction against the endless rolling lockdowns and perpetual house arrest. I also note that traffic returned to near-normal levels months ago, after being eerily missing when this all began.
That said, I don’t think the pretend state of affairs can continue much longer in the parts of the country that are still locked down. I note that in Michigan after the wretched governor’s assertion that she could rule by decree was rejected by the state supreme court, she simply ignored it- after quite openly declaring she would do so.
Now leftists always ignore traditions, laws, court decisions, etc, that they don’t like, to the extent that they are able to get away with. What has changed lately is that they plainly believe that they can pretty much get away with anything.
Time will tell, but I suspect that they’re quite thoroughly incorrect. I still recall my amazement reading that the English government of Lord North was shocked to find out that they had a foreign war on their hands, in the Colonies, at the beginning of what we now know as the American Revolution.
But that’s the towering arrogance of a disconnected elite. Of course, the English had the excuse of being thousands of miles away, across an entire ocean.
Our present so-called elite have no excuse at all.
I think that it already has raveled away in rural countries, Xennady. We went out into rural Texas this spring to purchase laying hens – no masks. To an American Legion post later in summer, for the Daughter Unit to be awarded a veteran quilt done by the local crafters. No masks – they were quite blunt about it: hey, we’ve been meeting for months without masks. Most of us took them off upon going into the post building. Did a client/service provider meet today, and shed them almost at once, without objection.
My brother is appalled at this lack of care. I’m wondering if this is all a case of – ‘I’m f**king miserable at all this, so you all ought to be miserable, too! It’s not faaaaaaiiiirrr that you aren’t sharing the miserableness of it all!’
Science doesn’t make policy (*).
For leftists, “science” should be properly understood to mean “whatever the latest politically correct orthodoxy demands.”
It doesn’t need to have anything to do with actual science, common sense, human sanity, or anything remotely resembling physical reality.
It just has to get them respect from their pin-headed pals. Just to pick one tiny example, I’ve seen yard signs that say “In Fauci We Trust,” displayed as a sign supporting a political candidate would be. Fauci has repeatedly and stupidly been caught lying to the public, which makes me rather disinclined to emulate this practice.
But I saw these signs posted in what I would describe as rather wealthy areas- with $1 million plus houses- which inspires me to conclude that these folks are proud members of our imbecile elite.
I think that it already has raveled away in rural countries, Xennady.
I agree. I’ve even been told of rural stores with signs posted on the door telling people to take off their masks or not come in.
But I don’t live or work anywhere near any rural area, so I can’t really comment on them.
I will say that in my suburban/industrial experience, people are quite willing to wear masks- me too- but not quite willing to endure it at bars or restaurants. If an establishment requests I wear a mask, I will do so, for the same reason I’ll wear pants.
But I don’t go to bars or restaurants, and that’s where I hear- and read- of resistance, for obvious reasons.
I said in the spring I wasn’t too worried about government overreaching, because people would push back and not tolerate things that went too far.
I think now I was grossly wrong about America, about so much in the past four years.
But I also think we’ve bifurcated pretty sharply. I’m in upstate NY, and masks are ubiquitous in most places, but even here all sheriffs told Andy to take a hike about even thinking about them enforcing any such mandates. I suspect the school attendance numbers by spring are going to show a pretty massive internal migration if things don’t change ASAP.
And we’ll see what happens with the vaccine. If some states mandate it more aggressively than others, it will cause even more sorting I think.
Perhaps some humor?
“The 6 January elector ‘ballot’ count is going to go down as the greatest troll of all time.
You may or may not know, but the Vice President gets to count the electors. That’s the one thing the Constitution makes crystal clear. Apparently the plan is for Mike Pence to roll in a Dominion voting machine (or a knock off that looks like one). He’s then going to pull out a USB drive, update the software just before the count, and use the machine to count the elector ballots.
Remember, this will be on national television. The count will not only come out fractional, but it will result in more votes than actual electors AND result in Trump winning more electors than Biden.
The chamber is expected erupt in chaos. Obviously the count will be challenged. Pence will then conduct a ‘recount,’ but he will use the machine to print the recount ballots and then hand count those. The recounted number will be similar to the original count, only changing by a couple votes, but it will result in Trump winning by even more than before.
Dems are expected to cry “fraud” and Pence will object and call for order. He will tell them that it’s too late to challenge because it’s already done. The count is finished. He will then deliberately wipe the machine’s software.”
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-greatest-showman.html
If they were really worried about Covid deaths, wouldn’t they develop better delivery systems to assisted living, etc. than they appear to. New York is doing the same kind of thing it did earlier, prioritizing people in drug rehab over those in older communities.
This can be argued – as Dan Patrick here did – that once you are older, you’ve had your shot at life and maybe risks are not inappropriate. This seems different, though, when it has to do with the vaccine and some states are vaccinating more people under 30 than over 70 (according to a television news show and repeated in some internet I read, of course, I may be misremembering). That just doesn’t make sense. Either they have lost any ability to reason through something or their professed altruistic motives are really a mask for their true, probably Ezekial Emmanuel inspired belief system. And I’m pretty happy I don’t live in a state ruled by a Cuomo.
Of course if they really believed that Black Lives Matter the last thing they’d do would be to defund the police and if they really cared about knowledge the last thing they’d do is turn children over to the care and nurturing of the teachers’ unions. And if they really cared about honest voting and hated vote suppression, the last thing they’d do is leave the voting rolls littered with people who had long ago moved to another state or another life about which we are all curious but know little. Or harvest ballots. Or do everything they can to make counting the votes as opaque as possible.
If they really cared about the happiness of others, they wouldn’t stoke grievances and invent bizarre justifications for hating everyone. If they really cared about the happiness of others, they would encourage people to do their jobs well and take pride in service to others rather than counting such jobs as useless and not worthy of the best that the laborer can do. And if they really cared about the Palestinians, they wouldn’t stoke grievances but rather demonstrate how fruitful life can be when such thinking is shed.
But of course it is hard to listen to someone’s malarky and enter into a discussion after you have been charged with selfishness and greed, racism and bigotry, lack of sensitivity and a general deplorable stance.
Sgt Mom,
the anchorite parallel seems far too real; but the anchorite is, I assume, generally focusing on the transcendent which as you point out is even a discouraged topic by those who want to imprison us. I’ve noticed that without people to talk to I’ve become more listless, lazy, and less interested in the world. Solitary has been chosen as punishment because it does much to make us vulnerable, fearful, passive. That is not true, I suspect, of the Anchorite, but few of us have the dignity, the passion to react in a positive way. I see those who are good models – they have lost weight in the imposed lock down or they have perfected a skill. But the opening and closing erratically makes such plans more difficult to imagine and many of us don’t have that energy and enthusiasm.
I love what you have to say but even more I love it that you have retained some energy and spirit and even anger in this year’s vacuum.
The response to the pandemic has become a panic-demic, with our “leaders” attempting to make this message stick:
We are your heroes! We can get you through this – if you TRUST and OBEY … as though they are the Central Figure of the hymn of that name.
Science does not make policy … that takes ¡¡¡SCIENCE!!!.
We were in Orange County CA for Christmas. Got home last night. We stayed in my son’s condo as hotels are all closed except for “essential workers.” We had a nice time and my other son’s Christmas Eve party was attended by about 20 people, half of them kids. My wife, who is 5th generation CA native, was struck by the fear everywhere. One of my daughters, the oldest who is a left wing lawyer, did not attend. Virus fears. We did go to breakfast with her, sitting outside in the rain of course. My middle daughter’s husband is an artist and kept his mask on the whole time. Someone later commented that he did not eat anything and mostly sat outside.
The TV shows were striking in the hysteria. We were glad to get home to Arizona where sanity is not as rare.
What Ginny said.
Death6
What Ginny said².
On your first point, there are states that are making supporting care facilities a priority, Texas and Florida among them, and it shows in the numbers. We need to pay attention now and remember those because in ’24 you can be sure that the media and their favored candidates will be doing all they can to obfuscate it. I expect New York and California to be fiscal disaster zones beyond the ability of the media to hide but still expect the governors to be hailed as heroes that persevered in spite of orange man.
On your second point, we have to be realistic, none of us are getting out of this alive. The line between accepting the inevitable and choosing who lives and dies has already been crossed in too many places, I don’t know how to put that genie back in the bottle. As above, it will be important to remember the details.
You can practically hear the thoughts going through the lizard brains of various pols: “If a doddering fool clearly suffering from advanced dementia can be president, why can’t I?” Why indeed?
You are losing 3000+ dead a day. You are adding almost 250,000 cases a day. California is out of hospital space and triage is becoming common. No wonder the authorities are concerned, but you don’t seem to care.
You lost a 41 tear old Republican congressman yesterday to Covid19.
California is out of hospital space and triage is becoming common.
If only California had locked down like Europe has done…oh wait.
You lost a 41 tear old Republican congressman yesterday to Covid19.
Tragic. If only China was competent enough to avoid unleashing a deadly plague upon the world- or worse, wasn’t evil enough to do it deliberately.
You know C19 was found in the sewers of Venice in Sept 2019?
You know C19 was found in the sewers of Venice in Sept 2019?
Was it? Did the CCP tell you that via the media organizations they’re paying off? I’d be very skeptical of that claim for that reason alone.
But even if true, it surely implies the outbreak took a while to get going. Thus, if the virus did in fact originate in Wuhan, as I believe, why should I not assume that it was circulating even earlier there without notice?
Because the murderous regime of the CCP claims otherwise? Not buying it.
LOL. You people, it was Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-sewage-idUSKBN23Q1J9
“Thus, if the virus did in fact originate in Wuhan, as I believe, why should I not assume that it was circulating even earlier there without notice?” You can assume whatever you want, with or without evidence. I try to bring light into dark places, but its nor easy. ;)
LOL. You people, it was Reuters
LOL yourself. Why exactly do you think I would believe Reuters? Seriously- why would I believe something just because Reuters writes it?
You wrote this as if it was some sort of great reveal. Actually, it was like a magician who managed to pull lint out of his hat. Not a great trick.
No one asked, but I was thinking, after your comment at 6:26 pm, that the real divide in Western societies is between people who have figured out that media organizations like Reuters have been lying to them, and those who haven’t.
You plainly haven’t. I can’t really fix that. But I can at least suggest you visit American sites like Instapundit.com or http://ace.mu.nu/
At the very least you’ll get a viewpoint that the CBC and Reuters won’t tell you about.
“You wrote this as if it was some sort of great reveal.”
I have repeatedly posted this fact here. There is not great reveal, its been out for years now.
I read a large variety of sources, every day. I don’t actually believe any of them, and that produces truth, as the lies die and the truth survives.
Really you live in an echo chamber reinforcing each others prejudices while carefully avoiding news that does not reinforce your views. Its rather funny, but distressing non the less.
Well, the basic problem is, Penny … that we can’t believe damn near anything published in establishment mainstream news sources.
We have to pick and choose from those whom have an established record of being accurate about the Commie Corona Plague.
“PenGun Says:
December 30th, 2020 at 1:36 pm
You are losing 3000+ dead a day. ”
USA loses 7000 people a day on average. You’re such scamdemic clown.
“You lost a 41 tear old Republican congressman yesterday to Covid19.”
One down, 534 to go.
Sgt, I can’t give you an exact figure, but consider this: Soviet Union, with all its accompanying effects of life in isolation behind the iron curtain, persevered for 90yrs.
Some tings that 1/6ht of Earth population consented w/o a squeak:
-mandatory vaccination, side effects “non-existent” officially. Written proof of being vaccinated against an approved list of deceases was required for all life events: when applying for a job, when intending to get married, when signing for swimming sessions in a public pool, before admission to a hospital for any reason (f.i., going into labor), &&&. When one applied for a job as a janitor, for ex, she needed to bring a medical note from a dermatologist that she has no venereal diseases.
Consider that passport was the main (and the only valid) document that everyone had to hold on to and treasure all their life – because without it one could not survive. One had to reside only (and be ready to present a proof of) at the address written in the passport, be of a “nationality” (race/ ethnicity) written on line 5 in the passport, and present it to every official who demand it. F.ex., to a salesgirl at the ticket window when booking a flight; to an HR person when being accepted for an interview, for an admissions clerk in college. And in all these situations opening oneself for abuses on the basis of race, social standing, gender, religion. You couldn’t get a job in a city that differ from your address; you couldn’t travel without authorities knowing your every step; you couldn’t refuse to serve in the army – you’d be easily found per your passport data, etc.
And the population of the whole wide country, found the practice even a little bit questionable.
Do you think it will not happen here? it’s already happening.
A year ago we would be amused, at most, if told we’ll be living in a regime of continuous lockdown.
People – and especially American people, are conditioned to be compliant, to abide what they are told are laws, and to retrieve into their family circle. We are inept in defense of our freedoms, our learned reaction to danger is flight, not fight.
To return to your question – how long we’ll endure it – the answer is indefinitely. Until there is no resistance at all.
People are still responding to PenGun ?
I guess it is better than self abuse.
It is amusing to see the ignorance. It will be months before the total deaths in 2020 will be available to compare with previous years. I wonder if the numbers will be trustworthy by then ?
“USA loses 7000 people a day on average. You’re such scamdemic clown.”
OK. You have done a 3700, and are poised to break 4000 a day dead. So half your deaths are now C19 deaths.
Still (of course) as true today as it was 250 years ago.
“Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never can willingly abandon it. They may be distressed in the midst of all their power, but they will never look to anything but power for their relief.” Edmund Burke
Mike – I can’t speak for everyone who frivols away some time and pixels responding to Penny … but I don’t do it for the sake of a fruitless argument with him whose mind is already closed and locked … but for the enlightenment of those silent readers of the blog, who see that a logical response can be made to the most blinkered idiocy imaginable.
Mejor morir a pie que vivir en rodillas. Men of the South! It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees! Emiliano Zapata (c. 1877-1919), attributed.
It’s simple, really. Penny gets it the other way around.
Ah. I see you don’t understand. Like my favourite character, a Vampire Sorceress, in the game I’m playing now, an MMO called Elder Scrolls Online, I speed up, when I go into crouch. ;)
We are all being held hostage by politicians trying to do “something”. If Texas had the initiative process, I’d petition for a law that obligated the armed person nearest to any public official that used the expression “abundance of caution” to shoot him or her as many times as necessary to prevent it happening again.
Texas has a law that requires anyone buying borosilicate glassware (Pyrex, Kimax, whatever crap the Chinese make) have a license issued by the Department of Public Safety (state cops). This is in response to the “meth crisis™”. This is presumably because meth cooks are known to adhere to such high standards of quality and safety that they would have no choice but to close up shop and start selling macrame on Etsy.
Or they can buy it on Amazon, Ebay and if you want cheap Chinese crap, Alli Babba. Or use an empty pop bottle. It hasn’t kept a single gram of meth off the streets but they did “something”.
The valuable thing about Trump is he knows this in his bones. He gave the States discretion to address their individual circumstances. In the case of New York and California, it was enough rope to hang themselves.
Sgt Mom: Exactly
“I think that it already has raveled away in rural countries, Xennady. We went out into rural Texas this spring to purchase laying hens – no masks. To an American Legion post later in summer, for the Daughter Unit to be awarded a veteran quilt done by the local crafters. No masks – they were quite blunt about it: hey, we’ve been meeting for months without masks. Most of us took them off upon going into the post building. Did a client/service provider meet today, and shed them almost at once, without objection.”
Agreed. I went to a live auction in rural Virginia yesterday, less than 100 miles from DC, attended by at least 200 people. Some wore masks, and some didn’t, and no one seemed concerned one way or the other. I’ve driven all over rural Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia lately, and notice there are still hundreds of defiant Trump signs dotting the landscape.