Posted on 03/17/2020 3:38:55 AM PDT by Kaslin
As of this writing, 6,400 people all over the world have died from the coronavirus. In the United States, 68 people have died.
Some perspective:
Chinese deaths (3,217) account for half of the worldwide total. If you add Italy (1,441) and Iran (724), two countries where many Chinese were allowed in until recently, that totals another 2,165. In other words, outside of China, Italy and Iran -- with 5,382 deaths collectively -- 1,018 people have died. There are 7.8 billion people in the world.
Regarding Italy, the Jerusalem Post of March 16 reported that according to Nobel Prize-winning chemist Michael Levitt, "Italy's higher death rate was likely due to the fact that elderly people make up a greater percentage of the population than they do in other countries such as China or France." As former CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson further explained: "Italy has the oldest population in Europe and more elderly per capita than the U.S. Most of the Italian deaths are in patients in their 80s and 90s. In addition, Italy has a great number of direct China contacts. Italy was the first to join China's 'silk road' economic partnership project ... (Italy's) deaths are out of a population of 60 million people."
Regarding Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 11:
"Iranian officials trace the origins of the country's coronavirus epidemic to the holy city of Qom, home to ... a number of Chinese-backed infrastructure projects built by scores of workers and technicians from China ... '(China has) turned into a very toxic bomb,' said Sanam Vakil, deputy Middle East director at Chatham House, a think tank in London."
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced a ban on flights from China on Jan. 31 -- for which he was denounced by leading Democrats and throughout the left. The very next day, presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden declared, "This is no time for Donald Trump's record of hysteria and xenophobia -- hysterical xenophobia -- and fearmongering." On Feb. 2, the American Civil Liberties Union announced, "These measures are extraordinary incursions on liberty and fly in the face of considerable evidence that travel bans and quarantines can do more harm than good."
The current consensus favors near-total social isolation, or "social distancing," as it is now called. The thinking is that we must shut down the Western world to prevent the exponential growth of the virus. If we don't, our hospital systems will be overwhelmed. Many thousands, maybe more, would die, as doctors have to make grisly triage decisions as to who gets care and who doesn't. This latter scenario is reported to have already happened in Italy.
Though there is no longer an exponential growth in the United States, they may otherwise be right.
Is this thinking correct? The truth is we don't know.
We have no idea how many people carry the COVID-19 coronavirus. Therefore, the rates of either critical illness or death are completely unknown. Perhaps millions of people have the virus and nothing serious develops, in which case we would have rates of death similar to (or even below) the flu virus. On the other hand, perhaps not many people carry the virus, but the rates of illness demanding intensive care and of death are much greater than those of the flu.
We can only be certain that shutting down virtually every part of society will result in a large number of people economically ruined, life savings depleted, decades of work building a restaurant or some other small business destroyed. As if that were not bad enough, the ancillary effects would include increased depression and divorce and other personal tragedies. The effects of closing schools for weeks or months will include family chaos, vast numbers of bored young people, health care providers who will have to stay home and more. Yet young people are the least likely people to become ill from the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this statement regarding closing schools:
"Available modeling data indicate ... that other mitigation efforts (e.g., handwashing, home isolation) have more impact on both spread of disease and health care measures. In other countries, those places who (sic) closed school (e.g., Hong Kong) have not had more success in reducing spread than those that did not (e.g., Singapore).
But the longer-term ripple effects are potentially far worse. Economic disasters rarely remain only economic disasters. To give a particularly dramatic example, the Nazis came to power because of economics more than any other single reason, including Germany's defeat in World War I, the Versailles Treaty or anti-Semitism. Nazi success at the polls was almost entirely related to the Weimar economy. Communist parties don't fare well in robust economies, but they're very tempting when people are in dire economic straits. Only God knows what economic dislocation the shutting down of American and other Western economies will lead to. I am not predicting a Nazi or communist ascendancy, but economic and political disaster may be as likely, or even more likely, than a health disaster.
But here is a prediction: If the government can order society to cease functioning, from restaurants and other businesses to schools, due to a possible health disaster, it is highly likely that a Democratic president and Congress will similarly declare emergency and assert authoritarian rule in order to prevent what they consider the even greater "existential threat" to human life posed by global warming.
The dam has been broken. Maybe it was necessary. But when dams break, flooding follows.
I agree...I’d be really surprised if the US comes out of this even remotely the same as we were before. It has been so easy for the Dem governors and mayors to shut down society, destroy private property and income, isolate us from each other and make us all dependent on government that the lefties must almost be getting tired of high-fiving each other.
James Madison warned that “crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant,” and we’re certainly seeing the truth of his words.
Mrs. abb & I had dinner last night at Commander’s Palace in NOLA. We jokingly in years past said that place is where would like our last meal to be. Yesterday, she commented that this event is going to give people a bellyful of government. I hope she’s right.
‘It has been so easy for the Dem governors and mayors to shut down society’
the guy that kicked all this nonsense off was Mike Dewine, a pubbie...
Could china have used their migrant workers in other countries as a ground zero injection for this pandemic attack? Many theories many possibilities
I’ve told my kids that the country was very different before 9/11. A lot of things changed after that. More control, more surveillance. We traded freedom for security in a lot of areas.
We’re probably going into a new stage of that same process.
Personally, I have never desired to live in a safe society. If it were up to me there would be a lot more death and a lot more freedom. That’s how it used to be. Somewhere along the way we decided to build a society where no bad thing ever happened to anyone ever.
I’m not liking it.
There is NO shortage of Rs willing to do the deep state’s bidding?
How many folks die each year from auto accidents? Why aren’t the bitches crying about this disease calling for NO driving.
How alcohol related car incidents. No alcohol.
Slipping in the shower? No showers.
Cancer from fast foods No fast foods.
I would rather be one of the one to die from this little b.tch of a virus and see my nephews and nieces retain their freedom than be locked down for 18 months (which is being talked about) through the election and into the first 6 months so we can’t protest the cheating.
Maybe we’ll all be voting on staggered lines guarded by the National Guard. Or the military.
Excellent article; this is what bothers me the most, but I know Who is in charge.
If you think The Patriot Act was bad, wait until you see legislation empowering federal agencies to shutdown businesses nationwide during a declared emergency.
It is a Democrat’s wet dream to have the power to suspend gun sales and civil rights immediately after a mass shooting.
“But here is a prediction: If the government can order society to cease functioning, from restaurants and other businesses to schools, due to a possible health disaster, it is highly likely that a Democratic president and Congress will similarly declare emergency and assert authoritarian rule in order to prevent what they consider the even greater “existential threat” to human life posed by global warming.”
Spot on. I’ve been referring to this panic as a dry run for totalitarianism.
The longer the quarantines go on, the more small business will go bankrupt. Large companies will take over. Surveillance and a more easily controlled population will emerge.
These things will happen. Sad.
Wife and I took a walking tour of the French Quarter a couple weeks ago.
Some great history...
Before we shutter one more business or gathering, we need to see any evidence that this disease is serious for people who do not have pre-existing conditions. NOW. The complete data set. Pre-existing conditions like hiv positive and other venerial disease disease can’t be hidden. And the data has to be inspected by statisticians without an agenda, i.e., no no Obama affirmative-action placeholders in CDC.
Very interesting commentary.
But I doubt it. In order to continue on their way to becoming a major military power they must maintain their economic power to pay for it all and create friendly relations in an effort to build up military allies. I think it’s in their best interests to keep the world economy in good order, and a disease like this will wreck their economy big time.
But who knows. Their current leader appears to be more of a Mao’ist than his predecessor. With that in mind, communism does not need a good economy to work. The USSR got several decades out of communism before it ran out of steam.
Why the Remedy May Be Worse Than the Disease
I don’t think our economy can take much more than a couple weeks of this non-sense.
Oh, that’s right the government has unlimited money.
Otherwise, cancelling major events, shutting down Disney, was a mistake.
For one thing it feels like we cowering in fear.
In stead, they should have reduced the crowd size.
Disney could have sold 50%, or less, of it’s usual ticket sales.
In arena events they could have left a couple seats empty between patrons.
Shutting down America just doesn’t feel right?
“The truth is we don’t know.”
Thank you. voice of reason Mr. Prager.
some 47% of americans have high blood pressure like me, and are at higher (about double) the risk of death from wuflu.
Just a data point for ya.
You heard it here first. I give it a maximum of two weeks before businesses start to reopen on their own even if the “forced closure” order in their state is still in force.
And you know what’s really frightening...
It’s being led by President Trump. I would have thought he wouldn’t fall for this type of stunt or even allow the destruction of the MAGA economy to this extent.
I am honestly more terrified of the future now than ever before. It many ways it is a future I don’t want to live to see.
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