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Government Goes Too Far
Townhall.com ^ | April 22, 2020 | John Stossel

Posted on 04/22/2020 3:41:54 AM PDT by Kaslin

I'm "social distancing." I stay away from people.

I do it voluntarily.

There's a big difference between voluntary -- and force.

Government is force. The media want more of that.

"Ten states have no stay-at-home orders!" complains Don Lemon On CNN. "Some governors are still refusing to take action!"

Fox News' host Steve Hilton agreed. "Shut things down! Everywhere. That includes Utah, Wyoming..."

But wait a second. People in Utah and Wyoming already socially distanced just by living there. Why must Utah and Wyoming have the same stay-at-home rules as New York?

I find it creepy how eager some people are for authorities to boss us around.

That's the topic of my new video.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, people gathered to protest a "stay-at-home" order. The police arrested a protester and tweeted, "Protesting is a non-essential activity."

I bet they got a chuckle out of that. But our Constitution guarantees Americans the right to "peaceably assemble" and "petition the government for a redress of grievances."

The coronavirus doesn't override the Constitution.

Protests also erupted in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer imposed some absurd rules. She declared, "All public or private gatherings of any size are prohibited." Her executive order stopped people from seeing relatives and banned anyone with more than one home to travel between them.

Big-box stores are allowed to stay open, but they must not sell things like carpet, flooring, furniture, garden supplies, paint, etc. So, Walmart stores are open, but some of their shelves have tape blocking certain products.

That's just dumb.

Gardening and painting can be done far away from other people.

So can exercise. But in California, police chased down and arrested a paddle boarder paddling in the ocean. He was far more than 6 feet away from anyone.

In Encinitas, California, police fined people $1,000 just for sitting in cars to watch the sunset at the beach. Yes, inside their cars. The police said, "We want compliance from everybody (because of) lives that we're trying to save."

But it's not clear that demanding total compliance is the best way to save lives.

Sweden took a near-opposite approach.

Yes, they encouraged older people to stay inside and sick people to stay home. They didn't want hospitals overwhelmed. But otherwise, Sweden is carrying on almost as normal.

"Closing schools, stringent measures like that, closing borders, you cannot do that for months or years," said epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Swedish Health Agency. "What we are doing in Sweden we can continue doing for a very long time. I think that's going to prove to be very important in the long run."

The long run matters most.

Since a vaccine is probably at least a year away, the Swedes reason that the best protection is what epidemiologists call "herd immunity," a critical mass of people who get the disease and then are resistant to it.

The hope is that once enough people get coronavirus, there will be enough immunity to prevent mass outbreaks later. Many of the most vulnerable may then be able to avoid ever getting the virus.

The jury is still out on this experiment. More than 1,500 Swedes have died, five times the death rate of neighboring Norway. But if Swedes acquire "herd immunity," their death rate will be the first to drop.

Other European countries agree that lockdowns are not sustainable.

Last week, Denmark reopened nursery and elementary schools. Germany opened retail stores this week. Norway opens schools next week. Austria reopens shops to people who wear masks on May 1.

That seems smarter than the "absolute shutdown" promoted by so many American authorities. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has threatened to "shut off water and power" to homes of people who do not shelter in place.

Shut off water and power?

Politicians rush to limit our choices in the name of "keeping us safe." They don't even want to think about places like Sweden or the argument that leaving us alone might make us safer.

They just like pushing people around.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: coronavirus; covid19; govintervention; gretchenwhitmer; sweden; tyrant
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1 posted on 04/22/2020 3:41:54 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

These pea-brained martinets LOVE exerting control over us.


2 posted on 04/22/2020 3:48:00 AM PDT by yldstrk (Bingo! We have a winner!)
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To: Kaslin

75% of Americans think the government has gone too far. The other 25% aspire to be enforcers or snitches.


3 posted on 04/22/2020 3:48:16 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: Kaslin

Government ALWAYS goes too far.

It is a thing we agree to have for some specific, limited purposes. But then, it becomes an invasive species. It un-limits itself and runs amuck, damaging the habitat.

It needs to be controlled. Now.


4 posted on 04/22/2020 3:59:44 AM PDT by polymuser (It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and so few by deceit. Noel Coward)
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To: Kaslin

Thank God I moved out of L.A. 15 years ago. I always knew or at least sensed something like this tyranny would happen. But not at such a breakneck speed. I think these little dicktaters moved too fast which will be their downfall. They’re impatient and they showed their cards too quickly.


5 posted on 04/22/2020 4:00:54 AM PDT by HighSierra5
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To: Kaslin

Deep State makes King George III and his parliament look like pikers.


6 posted on 04/22/2020 4:01:11 AM PDT by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: Kaslin

Social distancing by choice is freedom. Social distancing by mandate is oppression.


7 posted on 04/22/2020 4:18:05 AM PDT by loucon
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To: loucon

Hopefully the trendy, “with-it” catch-phrase “social distancing” will soon be just a distant memory. Every cause has a cliche, and “social distancing” is it for the massive power grab currently being attempted.

One encouraging thing is that many Americans are apparently beginning to remember basic mathematics, as in 330 to 350 MILLION people vs. certain governors and their adherents. It’s a small start, but everything has to start somewhere.


8 posted on 04/22/2020 4:31:13 AM PDT by AFB-XYZ
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To: Kaslin
So can exercise. But in California, police chased down and arrested a paddle boarder paddling in the ocean. He was far more than 6 feet away from anyone.

In Encinitas, California, police fined people $1,000 just for sitting in cars to watch the sunset at the beach. Yes, inside their cars. The police said, "We want compliance from everybody (because of) lives that we're trying to save."


The first paragraph is just meanness. The second paragraph is just ritualistic superstition, helping no one. Did this occur in my country?
9 posted on 04/22/2020 4:41:36 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie ( Stop the fearmongering! Post flu statistics along side COVID-19 statistics!)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.

The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth.
-C.S. Lewis


10 posted on 04/22/2020 4:46:20 AM PDT by RinaseaofDs
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To: Kaslin

Steve Hilton exposed and buried himself good on this one. Good job faux news.


11 posted on 04/22/2020 4:55:04 AM PDT by Maskot (Put every dem/lib in prison........like yesterday!!!)
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To: Maskot

DID YOU SAY SOMETHING OTHER THAN

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah?


12 posted on 04/22/2020 5:04:48 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

We’re not all in this together and I’m about ready to throw my TV remote through the front window at “Broadcast House” (WXYZ CH 7 Action News...”After all, we’re ALL Detroiters”...Funny how CH7 is actually located in a very nice and affluent area of Southfield, MI just down the street from the prestegious Lawrence Technological University. They create and work hard to maintain the appearance of being arbiters of everything PC and authorities on everything from how to wash your face and hands to bringing you their latest “heartwarming” and/or “heartbreaking” stories, with you the viewer being a “part of the magic”, or so they would hope. All is well with CH7 there to help you live the life you never knew you wanted...”until now”.


13 posted on 04/22/2020 5:26:10 AM PDT by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.)
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To: Kaslin

Excuse me? Panties in a wad this morning or something?


14 posted on 04/22/2020 5:26:16 AM PDT by Maskot (Put every dem/lib in prison........like yesterday!!!)
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To: Kaslin
But our Constitution guarantees Americans the right to "peaceably assemble" and "petition the government for a redress of grievances."

And the Nigerian scammer guarantees that you'll get millions of dollars.

15 posted on 04/22/2020 5:29:12 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: Kaslin

We never have had a problem at a 4 way stop.


16 posted on 04/22/2020 5:34:10 AM PDT by Varsity Flight (QE 2020. All Quiet on the Western Front)
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To: Kaslin

Would New York, SF, LA shutdown if the worst cases were concentrated in flyover SD, ND, ID, WY,MT, AZ, NM, etc ?...while they were relatively clear ?

Hell no they wouldn’t. So STFU !


17 posted on 04/22/2020 6:54:51 AM PDT by chiller (Davey Crockett said: "Be sure you're right. Then go ahead'. I'm going ahead.)
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To: Vigilanteman
"The other 25% aspire to be enforcers or snitches."

During WWII these people were called collaborators, and where publicly ostracized.

18 posted on 04/22/2020 7:56:33 AM PDT by SERE_DOC ( The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it. TJ)
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To: loucon

EDUCATE

DON’T DICTATE

BeGood/Stay Strong


19 posted on 04/22/2020 8:15:50 AM PDT by RossB
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To: polymuser

“Government ALWAYS goes too far.”

One of the most indecipherable puzzles I know of is why so many people seem unable to comprehend the truth of your five word sentence. It has been obviously so to me since about age fifteen but apparently not to most people. I have started telling people to try and grasp that government is in the business of creating problems, not solutions.


20 posted on 04/22/2020 9:08:51 AM PDT by RipSawyer ((I need some green first and then we'll talk a new deal!))
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