Free Republic

The theory behind curve-flattening is not that the virus will mysteriously disappear while we are all hunkered down, and we will emerge when it is safe to come out. That won’t happen. The point of curve-flattening is to prolong the epidemic, making it last longer than it otherwise would, as you can see in the curve-flattening diagrams. That way, more or less the same number will get sick and the same percentage will die, with one exception: our hospitals will not be overwhelmed by a crush of COVID-19 cases, and so ICU rooms and so on will be available for...

If the American public stays home en masse even after public officials lift stay-at-home orders, the ‘re-opened’ economy will look nearly as morose as the current one. If we reopen it, will they come? That paraphrase of the signature line from “Field of Dreams” illustrates a dilemma facing the Trump administration, along with state and local leaders, as they contemplate when and how to reopen elements of the economy shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.Just because the Trump administration gives word that individuals and businesses can reopen doesn’t mean that most, or even any, of them will do so.A dozen...

Donald Trump absolutely lit up his own Coronavirus Task Force press briefing with a more than six-minute, tour-de-force media takedown that had CNN and MSNBC sputtering and reaching for the plug. Trump said hello and turned the media briefing over to the NIH's Dr. Anthony Fauci to clarify his words uttered on CNN on shutting down the country earlier to prevent more deaths. Then, Trump took over and it was ON. He listed the timeline of his response to the coronavirus and presented a video of incorrect statements by the press on COVID-19. It was more than the Trumpiest of...

I'm posting this reference study due to the reckless disregard for public safety with the CDC's recent 'recommendation' for EVERYONE to wear masks, in particular homemade, cloth masks. If you believe that you are at-risk (lifestyle disease or immune-compromised/disorder, etc) and harbor the belief that a cloth mask will protect you, you're egregiously in-error. I missed the "recommendation" from federal health authorities for "everyone" to wear masks. Asinine from my perspective, but that's not the point. CDC made the April 3rd announcement on the basis of research surrounding "asymptomatic" people spreading the virus. There are several problems with this approach:...

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman accused President Trump of using “misleading” audio of her coronavirus reporting during a White House video at Monday’s press briefing meant to defend his response to the pandemic. In the audio clip from her late March appearance on the Times podcast “The Daily,” which was played as part of an administration video of generally positive news coverage, Haberman said the president was “widely criticized” for stopping flights from China from entering the U.S., adding he was accused of “xenophobia” and racism. “At the end of the day, it was probably effective, because it did...

he so-called “drive-by” demonstration – in order to maintain social distancing -- aims to bring traffic to a gridlock in Lansing and protest the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order by Whitmer, a Democrat, mandating what businesses could stay home, what some businesses could sell and ordering people in her state against any gatherings – no matter the size or family ties. “Quarantine is when you restrict movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people,” Meshawn Maddock, an organizer of the protest with the Michigan Conservative Coalition, told Fox News. “Every person has learned...

The "new normal" the left wants for America is a lot like the old secular socialism. I wrote two weeks ago about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who let slip his private fantasy of seizing and confiscating churches and synagogues — but no other institutions — if they violated New York’s belated quarantine laws. (snip) Two Viruses Now, Just as in 1918 There’s a virus in the air, all right, alongside the Wuhan Flu. It’s potentially more deadly. It breeds in the souls of our elites and spreads via the schemes of our politicians. The “Tyrannovirus” is not...

It seemed clear several weeks ago this was going to happen. East coast blue state governors and West coast blue state governors are uniting to begin the economic civil war planning to block any White House effort to re-open the U.S. economy. The three step plan seems predictable: (1) Get out ahead of President Trump. (2) Defy the ‘all clear’ and shape economic benefit to their political allies. (3) Then use Fauci’s upcoming dossier to hit the administration for heartlessly opening the economy too early. ♦ On the East Coast the governors of New York (Cuomo), New Jersey (Murphy), Connecticut...

The Treasury Department has requested that the largest U.S. airlines pay back 30% of the payroll grants, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to essentially convert some of the grants to loans comes as he wants to make clear that he is not offering ailing industries a bailout as they struggle with the coronavirus pandemic. It comes amid the backdrop of the presidential election and memories of bank bailouts during the financial crisis. The Treasury Department is sending a message to large companies weighing government aid to weather the coronavirus pandemic: No free...

"“It won’t be where you’re doing large public gatherings or even filling up a restaurant,” says Gates." "Will people want to go and travel?" Gates questioned. "Will they want to go to restaurants? Will they even think, you know, buying a new home is an appropriate thing? So, even once the government is saying these activities are OK, we can't expect the demand side to re-emerge overnight."

I see a red door and I want it painted black No colors anymore, I want them to turn black I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes I see a line of cars and they're all painted black With flowers and my love both never to come back I see people turn their heads and quickly look away Like a newborn baby, it just happens everyday I look inside myself and see my heart is black I see my red door and must have it painted...

As thousands of restaurants across the country close down over the coronavirus pandemic and stop discarding their leftovers outside, rats are becoming so starving that they are resorting to all out battles and even cannibalism to survive, according to a rodentologist.

Video of link. My notes follow: Number review: World closing on 2 million cases Belgium high day of deaths. Russia screaming onto the stage. Huge line of ambulances. Long waits. Turkey cases exploding. Some cases are starting to flatten out due to the social distancing. Seeing people "get it" in western Mass. IRS sent first electronic payments. Cares act is too little too late. UK video clip. Police burst into man's house. Break his door. 4 officers worried that he has an unauthorized social gathering. No officers were wearing a mask or gloves. Could have been spreading disease all over...