Posted on 03/14/2020 5:43:25 AM PDT by Kaslin
I'm the ultimate positive thinker. I'm also very cynical. You can be both. My favorite saying is "Expect the best. Prepare for the worst."
So I'm going to give you both sides of the coronavirus story.
Let's start with the bad. This is the worst mess of our lifetime. The economy is hanging by a thread. Stocks rebounded Friday but have been savaged. Small business is wrecked. Millions of Americans are about to lose their jobs. My beloved Vegas is -- for the moment -- down for the count. And I haven't even gotten to the health crisis yet.
I have many great friends and guests on my national TV and radio shows who are medical experts. Half believe this is the pandemic to end all pandemics. They quote Centers for Disease Control and Prevention models that report as many as 1.7 million Americans could die. So people are rightfully scared out of their minds. American business is shutting down. But the other half of my medical friends and expert guests say this is an overreaction. They predict fewer Americans will die than during the flu season of 2017-18 that killed about 80,000 people. They don't believe we need to close down American business and lock ourselves in our homes.
The problem is we won't know who's right until it's over.
So I have preached for President Donald Trump to attack this with everything he's got, not just the looming health care crisis but also the financial crisis. When all is said and done, we will need a 21st-century version of the Marshall Plan to save America's economy. We'll need a trillion-dollar plan to rescue small businesses and their employees, those sick with coronavirus, the tourism industry, the airlines, Las Vegas and all the rest.
Now I want to brighten your day a bit. Because I believe you're hearing only worst-case scenarios.
First, the left thinks Trump is finished. Not so fast. The latest Rasmussen poll has him at 49% approval. That's up several points, smack dab in the middle of the stock crash and the coronavirus crisis. And in Iowa, polls show Trump beating both former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders by double digits. So I'm betting Trump will be fine.
Now to the coronavirus. First, the CDC reports that this virus could kill up to 1.7 million Americans. But this is the same government agency that projected Ebola could infect more than 1 million in Africa. It wound up infecting fewer than 30,000. Could CDC officials be badly wrong?
Second, no one seems able to explain something to me. Italy is a country of 60 million with a terrible Third World health care system. It has 1,000 dead. The pandemic is raging. Let's say 3,000 die in the end. Then it hits America, a country of 330 million with the finest health care system in the world and the finest doctors. Why would America's results be worse than Italy's?
And even if the results are similar, multiply 3,000 dead by five (because our population is five times bigger). That's 15,000 dead in the United States from coronavirus. That's far lower than the 80,000 Americans who just died from the flu two years ago. Why is America going to have 1.7 million dead? Can anyone explain that projection to me? So far, no one can.
Lastly, some are reporting death rates much higher than that of the flu. Is it possible millions already have coronavirus but it's mild and they've chosen not to tell anyone they have it, or they don't even know? Perhaps the death rate is understated.
I'm betting on America. I'm hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. You should be, too.
SARS.
After SARS had killed several people in a small town in Turkiye and was described in horrified tones in the press because the deaths represented some large percentage of diagnosed cases, an American doctor went to that town and tested everyone in the place. He discovered that everyone had been "afflicted" with SARS. In interviews that accompanied the blood work the non-diagnosed "sufferers" described having sniffles or a bit of a cough for a few days and suchlike. Add all those into the statistics and SARS becomes much less formidable.
We don’t have Chinese Flu here yet but the shipyard where I am a security guard is talking about shutting down for the duration. That won’t likely affect me because the need for security guards will not abate but more will be needed with a shutdown. I will probably get some overtime which is always welcome.
but the shipyard where I am a security guard is talking about shutting down for the duration.
The leftists who are all rubbing their hands and chortling at the assumed certainty that this is all Trump’s Katrina and he will lose the election because of it cannot understand what is happening. All of the crap that they are shoveling onto Trump’s head and that Nature and the Chinese weapons development lab have piled on to him has given the people an understanding that this president reacts to and overcomes everything that would be disasters to another president. The general population may not even consciously know that but they feel it and it changes how they think about the election ahead.
The Howard Hughes wing of FRee Republic chimes in.
The problem is we won’t know who’s right until it’s over.
Repeat LOUD and OFTEN....................................
“The economy starts to unravel next week with millions of people out of work.”
Yes and at that point this overblown media driven feeding frenzy gets real and people suddenly become more reasonable.
You really should see their toe nail clippings collection.
You win the internet today.
Anticipating the WuHanFlu.
The economy is far from dead. Consumers just bought a month’s worth of groceries in the last few days.
There’s also going to be a baby boom 9 months from now...and not just in the US.
I just got back from the store. The MOST interesting thing wasn’t the empty shelves (there were plenty) nor the panic in the air (most folks were in great moods.). It was the cash back limit had been cut to $40. The front end manager said they had almost run out of cash yesterday. On a Friday.
Crazy stuff.
Do you mean incredibly handsome, well to do, and popular with the ladies? Reporting for duty.
You must be the guy that shines shoes around here. I have some boots covered in manure. If you could spiff them up...there is a shiny quarter in it for you.
Yes, that Howard Hughes. The one that let his raging paranoia consume him, only to die in squalor.
Please point out where I am suggesting anyone panic.
You guys are so quick to slap any post, it is actually getting amusing.
Those of us with eyes that see, and ears that hear, took steps to keep ourselves safe and secure two months ago.
WE are not the one clamoring for toilet paper like the rest of you droogs.
Keep at it...til your last cough spasm. It’s fun to watch.
And yeah, the boots still need some polish. Make sure you get the seams.
The real American spirit there - cowering in fear, pissing your pants. Real fine lessons for our kids to pick up on.
You are the only one pissing your pants.
I haven’t said or written a thing that is hyperbole. YOU are the one attacking me. Calling me “unAmerican.”
So to be an American I am expected to believe the lies that the government is telling me, sit on my thumbs, and do nothing?
Good luck with that routine.
Sine January...the only thing I have said to do is buy an extra meal a week or a can of beans. That’s something anyone should have been doing to prepare for a three day snowstorm.
Please indicate where I am espousing panic. Please.
That shit in my books is just getting drier. You might want to take a breath, settle down and get to them. I will toss a roll of TP in if you get them nice and shiny.
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