The pandemic was an Act of God, in a legal rather than a theological sense. It looks like its fatality rate will be not much greater than would be seen in a severe influenza season. The true disaster has been the hysterical reaction to it, drummed up by politicians because Orange Man Bad. This disaster has been completely man made, and we will be decades recovering from it.
Given how China treats its Christians (and other religious minorities), I wouldn’t dismiss the theological sense out of hand.
In Minneapolis there are over a hundred more shooting deaths this year than there have been (up to this date in the year) than even in peak shooting years. The mayor has said that this is in part due to young people being unemployed and not having alternatives.
In unrelated news, the Mayor put new severe restrictions on bars and restaurants, and is considering shutting them down completely, with possibly more types of businesses to follow.
I think many of us have known that Covid-19 was far less serious than was being promoted by the government and MSM.. The video above is a good summary of our present conclusions: the whole thing is mostly bogus. But herein lies a mystery. Why do so many not want to know the truth and become upset made aware.
My son Matt, the TV political commentator, tells me never to send him stuff like the video above. Of course, I keep sending it. My conclusion is there is something seriously wrong with those who do not want to look for the truth especially in the face of the clear government insanity on full display.
Why do so many not want to know the truth and become upset made aware.
You know that picture of the gal(?) screaming in primal grief because Trump was elected?
That’s the Progressives, the last almost-4 years.
Imagine being in that kind of fear/pain/turmoil….and you don’t have a physical reason for it. I’ve had panic attacks, they’re horrible not just because of the physical aspect, but because part of you is screaming because there is nothing to panic about!
EVERYTHING has been the End Of The World for the last 4 years– this gives them some kind of a physical focus!
In 2012, the Democrats loudly and publicly rejected God. A vacuum was formed.
The rest is history.
I’m frustrated that I don’t hear a middle ground. Yes, we’re lucky that the coronavirus has a pretty low fatality rate. Yes, the media oversell every story. Yes, masks help prevent the spread. The curve is headed upward again, and we should be taking reasonable steps to keep it under control.
Despite the video’s claim, people with heart disease and diabetes aren’t just about to die anyway. Their deaths count. In some cases, accidental deaths have been attributed to covid-19, but that’s less than 1%. Hundreds of thousands of people have died from this disease, and we should take it seriously. We should also reopen society as much as we can.
Greater precautions for the elderly. General precautions for everyone. Good research and development.
Pinky, you don’t hear a middle ground often because this seems to be a subject where ideology trumps facts, and also where facts are hard to come by. Data offered by government agencies is often misleading and has been doctored. Very few people, on the right or left, are willing to look at this situation objectively
I don’t trust government data blindly. So let’s say somewhere between 100-200k Americans have died. Whether the real number is on the high end or the low end, yikes, that’s a lot of people.
The funny thing is, I think it’s all gone pretty well. We’ve only seen the complete collapse of the system once, in New York City. We’re better at treating the disease than we were. I’m stunned that the federal government has allowed the states to act. And of course I’m grateful that the fatality rate has remained so low.
Common sense and good government won’t stop a virus. On the other hand, I’m not shocked that Germany and Utah have done a lot better than Italy and New York.
What I don’t understand is the obsession with surfaces in lieu of doing something about HVAC systems. It’s a reasonable inference that people in Florida, Texas, and Arizona are suffering now because of exposure to indoor air not properly circulated or filtered. And here we are fussing over whether or not to re-open schools instead of just putting the employees over 60 on furlough, opening the windows, and moving classes under tents in the open air. A lot of misplaced effort with this.
I’m definitely missing something about air circulation, because airplanes are in service, and if we can do that safely, we should be able to figure out a lot of other things.
I’ve been wondering what the net death for children is due to the response. While some children have in fact died from COVID-19, the number is miniscule. In modeling it is indistinguishable from 0%.
On the other hand, the response has definitely killed children. Children left in cars because their parents were worried about them getting exposed in the store. Children who died of diseases which were not treated in time because of fear of hospitals (or inability to access “elective services”).
But the big number is going to be through starvation. I’m sure that there’s been some of that in the US due to the vast number of unemployed. But overseas the issue will be worse. It’s not only the economic effects, but disruption to the supply chain meant that farmers were forced to destroy huge amounts of food that could have went to the third world. The UN estimates that the new conditions are killing about 10,000 children every month, and pushing about half a million more children to the point of starvation (but not quite death).
Michael,
Your son is THAT Matthew Dowd? The Bush 2004 campaign strategist Matthew Dowd? Wow!
The acorn should have stayed closer to the very wise parent oak tree!
If the curve where you live looks like it’s headed back up, it might help to step back so you can see more of the graph.
Depending on where you live, of course.
Couple of links offered in search of Pinky’s “middle ground”:
First, if we’re going to find a middle ground it’s going to have to be base on objective evidence, and the virus doesn’t care about your politics. Second, we need to agree on what science can do, and what it can’t do for us.
If you peruse Instapundit, you’ve probably already seen these links.
Speaking of what science can’t do, one of the most cowardly dodges has been politicians saying that their policies are required by “the science.”
Even if you accept that scientists are always perfectly accurate and never politically motivated, this still doesn’t work. Science can, at best, tell us things like if we don’t lock down our economy we can expect to have X number of people die from a disease. It can’t answer the question of whether that death total is preferable to having many people suffer (and sometimes die) from losing their jobs or having lack of access to regular medical care. It can’t answer the question of whether government officials have the authority to do a complete lockdown in the first place. It can’t evaluate whether it would be moral to deny the faithful access to the sacraments. That is all outside of the scope of science.
But by simply saying that “the science” requires this, they end the discussion right there.
Re HVAC systems, two years ago at my parents’ house an UV bulb was installed in the outgoing duct from the furnace/AC. The UV light kills mold, bacteria n virus. Construction on our mission church will start early fall. I’ve asked our priest to consider adding UV bulb(s) to the HVAC. Actually it could be added to the old hall HVAC where we worship now. In the meantime the windows have been opened.
Remember when the source of Legionairs disease was the AC in a Philly hotel?