Free Republic

If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic can be used to illustrate two problems that are both more destructive than the virus. The problems relate to how Americans view the role of government in their lives and to the belief that government money can always fix problems. Let's look at the money issue first. The immediate reaction of our government to the virus threat was to spend massive amounts of money. The latest news is that politicians plan to "boost" the economy with nearly two trillion dollars in spending and loans. "The package is coming in at about 10% of GDP. It's very large,"...

Krispy Kreme is thanking the country's health care community, friends and neighbors the best way it knows how: with free doughnuts. Krispy Kreme is offering health care workers dozens of its original glazed doughnuts for free every Monday from March 30 – National Doctors’ Day – through National Nurses Week (May 6-12). Just go to a Krispy Kreme drive-thru, tell them what you need and show your employer badge to pick up some free doughnuts on the way to work for you and your colleagues, or maybe a free dozen on your way home to family after a long shift.

In the midst of this economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, there is broad bipartisan support in Congress to provide payments to American taxpayers to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus. Among other components of the nearly-$2 trillion relief package negotiated in the US Senate, the agreement announced Wednesday morning reportedly will include checks of $1,200 to most American adults. These funds are supposed to help those who are out of work to pay for food and lodging and to stimulate the contracting US economy, encouraging people to spend even while they are stuck at home. Unfortunately, the Senate...

We've been living in a dream. We climb into jet planes and fly across continents, never giving the accomplishment a second thought. We drive to grocery stores, assuming the shelves will be stocked with endless boxes of food. And every day we plug our devices into the wall, sure that electricity will flow from the outlet. It's time to wake up. The international COVID-19 pandemic is many things, but its deepest impact may be fostering a recognition that this machine of civilization that we built is a whole lot more fragile than we thought. And that is why, in the...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspended its enforcement of a variety of environmental laws on Thursday, saying that industries could have trouble complying with them due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agency added that it won't expect "to seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations." "EPA is committed to protecting human health and the environment, but recognizes challenges resulting from efforts to protect workers and the public from COVID-19 may directly impact the ability of regulated facilities to meet all federal regulatory requirements," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. "This temporary policy is designed to provide enforcement discretion...

Who says there’s no free lunch? As the coronavirus crisis continues to inspire the best in Americans, a mystery “neighborhood mom” has started leaving out sack lunches on a table outside of a traffic circle in Severna Park, Md., every afternoon “for anyone who needs it," The Capital Gazette reported. “I will be leaving some healthy sack lunches on this table for you if you are hungry and need to eat. Made with love by a neighborhood mom in a clean and sanitized kitchen,” the sign, hanging from a modest table covered by a tarp, reads. A larger sign next...

MIAMI -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stood defiant in the face of a $15 million bounty by the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges, calling Donald Trump a "racist cowboy" and warning that he is ready to fight by whatever means necessary should the U.S. and neighboring Colombia dare to invade. Maduro's bellicose remarks Thursday night came hours after the U.S. announced sweeping indictments against the socialist leader and several members of his inner circle for allegedly converting Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups. One indictment by prosecutors in New York accused...

"...In a recent article, I accepted public health stats on ordinary flu and COV, and showed the insane contradictions in numbers and in government containment strategies. In this article, I take another angle. The CDC has been lying about ordinary flu for decades. So why wouldn’t they continue their fine tradition of lying about COV? Why should you believe ANYTHING they say about COV? Why should you accept their case numbers, their ominous warnings, their insistence on lockdowns which wreck economies? It’s simple. If a boy shows up at a grocery store the first six days of the week and...

Here is my latest attempt. Data is now from https://infection2020.com/ Hope some will find it useful. No claims of the use or accuracy of these maps is implied. Other parties may use these maps as there own.

-Smith charged in connection with alleged misuse of county forfeiture funds MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith has been hit with 10 criminal corruption charges -- including running a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony -- in connection with the alleged misuse of county forfeiture funds. Smith faces considerable jail time if he’s found guilty, but the case reaches far beyond the prosecutor. He’s accused of turning the top law enforcement office in the state’s third-most populated county into a criminal enterprise. After the state raided Smith’s office last April, and then his home a month later, Smith...

**SNIP** Former Vice President Biden's campaigning is reaching out to voters as their lives are likely being turned upside down by the coronavirus outbreak. Biden, who is working out of his Delaware home these days, took part in a virtual press conference and a virtual happy hour. Additionally, Biden rolled out the inaugural edition of a newsletter, in which he announced an upcoming podcast. Biden is trying to present a more personalized view of himself as many voters deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The former vice president's newsletter engages readers with a question and answer section, as...

As part of an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus bill expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday night, many Americans experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 will soon be eligible for a $1,200 check and expanded unemployment benefits. But despite promises from Democratic congressional leaders, the sweeping legislation will leave behind some of the country's most vulnerable residents: undocumented immigrants and mixed status families. According to a draft of the bill, the relief explicitly excludes those without Social Security numbers from obtaining the one-time cash assistance payments that will soon be sent to millions of Americans. Even more glaring, advocates said,...

Jimmy Dore plays a portion of Katie Halper's interview with Alexandra Tara Reade who accuses Joe Biden of sexual assault/rape while working as his staffer.

Will the last Republican left in New York’s state Senate please turn out the lights? It’s not quite that bad … yet. But the Senate GOP leader, John Flanagan, this week announced that he’s not seeking re-election, the ninth member of his caucus to hang it up — and a tenth, Cathy Young, quit last year. It was only in the 2018 election that the Republicans fully lost control of the chamber, though they had increasingly relied on alliances with renegade and/or “independent” Democrats, plus heavy gerrymandering.

Chicago’s mayor issued a warning to residents spending long periods of time outside their homes as the city tries to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday that Chicagoans need to follow the statewide "stay at home" order issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week. She said residents should “only go out for the essentials” and warned that those violating the rules could wind up in trouble. “Be smart,” Lightfoot said, according to CBS Chicago. “Not only will our police be deployed to shut them down if you are not abiding by these orders, we will...

Three House Democrats, including a former 2020 hopeful and a member of “The Squad,” have self-quarantined after developing symptoms of coronavirus. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) each announced on Wednesday that they were cautiously remaining at home while monitoring their symptoms for the rapidly spreading virus, which has already appeared in one House Republican and one House Democrat. Moulton, a veteran who ran an unsuccessful bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, wrote in a Facebook post that he and his wife had developed symptoms of the virus and consulted his primary health provider, the...

Federal agents on Wednesday arrested a Southern California man who allegedly claimed to have a cure for the coronavirus and was selling the fake antidote using Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s name as a ruse to lure investors. The FBI took actor Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, 53, into custody Wednesday evening during an undercover sting. Middlebrook, who held small-time uncredited roles in “Iron Man 3,” “Thor” and “Moneyball,” delivered pills to a federal agent posing as a potential investor after he allegedly claimed to have personally developed a “patent-pending cure” for COVID-19, the global pandemic that has since ravaged the world, the agency...

After news spread that the Italian innovation firm Isinnova successfully saved lives by 3D printing ventilator valves for its local hospital, CEO Cristian Fracassi and engineer Alessandro Romaioli fielded all sorts of calls from around the world. Many 3D-printing companies wanted to join in and help. Several countries wanted to use similar technology for their populations. But, one call started a whole new project for Isinnova’s staff in Brescia, in northern Italy. Renato Favero, a retired physician, got in touch with Fracassi and Romaioli by contacting a doctor at the Chiari hospital where the ventilator valves were used.

In his bitter, five-year battle with the media, I’m not sure President Trump has ever leveled a more serious charge than he is making right now. He’s turned “fake news” into an indelible slogan. He has called such news “the enemy of the people.” He has suggested that some journalists are traitors. And look, all kinds of media people have said all kinds of terrible things about the president, so there is deep hostility on both sides. But I was still taken aback, in the midst of this virus crisis, when Trump tweeted this the other day: