China Virus: Know Means No?

Stir crazy. Horrible shock to the system.

The world's greatest hot bar located at the Harris-Teeter supermarket in New Hanover Square in Wilmington closed today "until further notice."

This is war. I've had it.

It's one thing to shut down airlines, cruise liners, shops, restaurants, dog parks, government offices, and factories, it's quite another to cut me off from my salmon and prime rib.

This reaction to the China virus has gone totally insane.

The more you learn, the more you know, and, hence, the more you have to say "No" to what we are doing to the global economy and society. The mortality rates on this virus thing are falling as we get more and more data. The initial horrendous mortality hype was based on a relatively small "N," just like a bad political poll that seeks to tell you national trends by polling 325 people on the phone in Manhattan--ask Hillary.

As the testing expands, and the number of "infected" people grows dramatically, the overall mortality rate falls. Surprise! Not. The denominator gets bigger and the size of the fraction goes south . . . It seems as though the mortality rate will prove about that of any flu or other epidemics/pandemics we have had in recent years.

Perhaps, I am right? The horror of that thought . . .

We have shut down the economy all over the world in a fit of mass hysteria. More people will die from that, than from the Chinese disease. It appears (that word) Trump's initial skeptical stance seems to have proven right. Unfortunately, in my view, he got stampeded by the "experts" and the media's low rent Jeremiahs into freezing the economy.

The further we go down this rat hole, the harder to crawl our way back.

But . . . there is a growing realization that the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for fomenting this hysteria by lying and trying to cover up the existence of the virus; as we all know, the cover up is often worse than the crime. So, if there is a bright spot to all this, we will re-evaluate our relationship with China and the insane policies that made China the center of the world's manufacturing. Delink from China: that should be our motto for years to come, yes, delink.

Back to cleaning my guns. Haven't fired my new Ruger 57 or my new STI Staccato. The suffering I have endured . . .

And the Next Time? More of this Nonsense?

Hunkered. Bunkered. Shuttered. Furious.

OK. Everything is shut down because of the new flu. We have tanked the economy and all over the world we are seeing massive increases in government power and control. This to "fight" a virus.

Just a quick thought before I sneak outside to walk the dogs.

What about the next time?

Are we going to keep doing this every time there is some "virus"? And there will be another one and another one and another one.

Waiting for Gov Dough

"Dear Diary,

It is Day 97 (approx) of the Great China Virus Apocalypse. The Diplowife and I are hunkered in our Wilmington bunker, the monotony of confinement shattered only by lunch-time trips to the hot bar at the local Harris-Teeter supermarket. We are limited to huge helpings of fresh salmon, pulled pork, shredded beef, prime rib, roasted turkey, chicken breast and wings, and tilapia in tomato sauce, not to mention fried okra, roasted vegetables, mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes, roasted red potatoes, broccoli with bacon, cauliflower, and a range of Asian foods, ironic given the origins of our current viral crisis. Has humanity no pity for our suffering? How much more of this can we take? President Trump, hear our cries! Mail us $1000! Send us more government! We can't take care of ourselves!

Signed for what posterity might follow, if any,

The Diplomad"

I have revealed to you the most private of my writings: the first page of my Viral Diary.

As you have guessed, I remain greatly troubled by the China Virus--and, yes, it is the China Virus as much we have had the German Measles, the Spanish Flu, the West Nile Virus, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Lyme (Connecticut) Disease, a new Rebel Wilson Movie, etc.

The actual effect of the virus--I suspect--will be nothing more than another in a long line of flu epidemics/pandemics. The mortality rate numbers appear way off (see here for a good common sense look at those) and exaggerated either deliberately or through ignorance--you decide. The whole crisis, all over the world, is being used to increase dramatically the power and reach of government; the control by government over our daily lives is rising exponentially in "response" to the "crisis." Panic is being engendered by the mass media, government spokesmen, and, of course, the internet in all its manifestations. It is very difficult to get the truth of what is happening, so I fall back on my default setting of cynical disbelief. Whenever the media and government grab hold of a complex scientific issue and make an issue of it, beware. Something is afoot. I have worked overseas with the CDC, for example, and while there are some fine and dedicated people there, it is, as I have noted before (here and here, for example) a den of politically correct bureaucrats and Deep Staters as much as any other public entity. The CDC has spent a lot of time on nonsense having nothing to do with infectious diseases and has pursued the tax dollar with studies on gun violence, homosexuality, domestic abuse, etc., instead of being prepared for real diseases. The much quoted Dr. Fauci (NIAID director), whom I don't know, was dead wrong on HIV/AIDS, and his predictions on that disease were way off (look'em up; you'll see). Take what he says on the China Virus with a grain of highly sterilized salt. He hasn't met a camera he doesn't like.

My gym is closed, the restaurants are closed . . . I haven't tried the gun range, yet.

Anyhow, here I sit, wondering if we are going to go nuts like this every time something unexpected happens.

I will await my government check.

At the Local COSTCO: No Zombies Grabbing Toilet Paper

Sigh.

I hate shopping. Al Gore, of course, invented the internet so that I never would have to enter a store. But, alas! We were low on dog food, and the three beasts only eat Kirkland Salmon meal kibble, available only at the local Costco. Off we went, expecting to confront rampaging mobs of Zombies doing battle over rolls of toilet paper . . . but, no. I had no need of my new Arizona-made Ruger 57 (review coming) or my new Texas-made STI Staccato 9 (review coming). The zombies must have known I was on my way, and stayed away. That's gotta be the explanation . . ..

The Costco here in Wilmington was not particularly crowded; the shelves seemed full to me of all kinds of stuff, admittedly, the sort of stuff I rarely buy. People were quite nice and civilized; no fighting over pasta or beans; no insults; no grappling over a solitary case of water bottles.

We got our 35lb sack of dog food, and a few other odds and ends, e.g., pimento cheese, kosher hot dogs, some hamburger meat, beef jerky (of course), ice tea, unsaltead nuts, and went to the register. Everybody in line, as well as the cashier, proved friendly, no panic, no rudeness, no comments about "hoarding," or the END. We took advantage of the trip to gas up the ol' Silverado ($1.88/gallon!)--no lines, no fighting over gasoline, etc. The apocalypse seemed quite distant on a sunny Carolina day.

Maybe, just maybe, folks in North Carolina haven't gotten the memo about the impending collapse of the universe, but at the Costco, the dog park, the local bbq establishment, they all seemed quite relaxed, a few even making jokes about the hysterical nonsense over the Chinese flu. My kind of people.

North Carolina. A good place to be when the zombies come around . . . I hear that the Ruger 57 is particularly effective at stopping zombies. I will let you know.

Elite Arrogance of "Work from Home"

Just a quick one while I continue to move into the new house.

As I have written before, I think this China virus business is vastly overdone. This is hardly the most dangerous infection of our time! It is being hyped as a political weapon, at least here in the USA, against Trump. Period.

One particularly irritating theme constantly being repeated is the advice to "work from home."

That's fine if you're a retired, old fart blogger or in the elite industries of IT and other such white collar labors. How does a cop or a fireman work from home? How about our military? Or a blue collar worker in a factory? Yes, make those automobiles in your living room . . . right. How about a hamburger flipper or a waiter? A farmer? A butcher? A mechanic? Like with so much else about this virus it's a bunch of elite nonsense designed to create panic and sink the economy and, btw, the Trump presidency.

Back to my boxes "at home" . . .

The Madness is Afoot!

Sorry. I might be way off but, . . . . well, before I start, let me state that I am not a medical doctor, public health expert, or anything remotely useful to society, and neither do I play such in real life or even on the internet.  In sum, I give out my views for free, and they are almost worth every penny you pay.

OK. That all said, the lawyers placated, I have to say I think that this Wuhan virus "crisis" is VASTLY over-hyped.

This is not the black plague; not the Spanish flu; not  Ebola or Swine Flu, the anthrax threat, or any of the other "epidemics," or "pandemics" that were supposed to kill us all. Remember, of course, that not too many years ago, the professional screamers told us that all of civilization would turn into a howling wilderness thanks to HIV/AIDS--ahem, Duesberg was right and it didn't happen. The HIV/AIDS predictions were not even close.

We see it also with the global climate change nonsense wherein predictions of catastrophe have repeatedly failed to materialize, and the only thing the changers can predict is, well, change. That's useful, right?

Wuhan, aka Corona, aka COVID-19 virus, so far, at least, does not appear to be a mass killer. It seems lots of people catch it and don't even know it. The vast majority of those who do have symptoms, apparently, will survive just fine. Sure elementary precautions are useful, and anything that encourages greater cleanliness can't be all bad. I, however, see little good reason, or any, for that matter, for the socio-economic-political destruction underway as mass hysteria grips the world.

Stop it!

At least here in the USA, we have a perfect storm. We have a hostile and incredibly arrogant and malicious mass media, running 24 hrs/day, pushing the "we're all gonna die" scenario in a political year, a year in which the target is Trump. The lefties have been calling openly for a recession, an economic collapse, as a way to get rid of Trump, to promote their crazy globalist memes, and to get us cowering in fear and praying for more government intervention in our lives. The Chinese virus is the silver bullet! Or so they think. The same people who opposed tightening our borders and who have turned our major cities into petri dishes for infection and social dysfunction are now critical of Trump's moves on the Wuhan virus.

This will pass. Pharma will develop a vaccine or a cure or the virus will just fade away.

By the way, the Diplowife and I have, in our many years abroad, come down with TB, dengue, hepatitis, broken bones, and various horrid stomach and skin ailments. We survived. Ain't afraid of no Wuhan virus. In fact, I am going out to have a lunch of fried bat wings. Well, I might be exaggerating for effect there . . .

In the meanwhile, I hope we proceed to decouple our Western economies from China's, and to relocate our supply chains back in the West.

Karl vs Groucho: The Democrat Marxists at Play (II)

OK. I am not right too often, but when I get one, I get it dead on.

Not long ago (February 4), I noted that the Democrat Party had split between two types of Marxists: those who follow Karl Marx, and those who follow the much wiser Groucho Marx. Karl's prime follower has taken a hit in the ol' shorts these last few days. Bernie "Honeymoon in the USSR" Sanders had a less than stellar run on Super Thurs--er--Tuesday. He lost his front-runner status to a tottering, doddering ol' corruptocrat, Joe Biden, around whom the Dem establishment has rallied, employing the tactics of the Spanish Christian warriors against the Moors: myth has it they propped up their dead Chief, El Cid, on a horse and scared the Moors away. Joe as the dead El Cid? I like it.

The absurd candidacy of Mayor Mike came to a crashing halt in a thunder cloud of hilarity and shredded 100 dollar bills; he never could emulate Groucho, and ended at best as Gummo, Zeppo, or, maybe, Florence Foster Jenkins. You decide.

As I began to write this little piece, Elizabeth Warren announced that she, too, calls it quits. The rampant sexism, agism, and white supremacist bias of Dem voters proved too much for a poor, aged, underprivileged, pregnant Cherokee woman with children in public schools on a reservation in Oklahoma -- or something along those lines. Warren had aspired to play thee part of Rosa Luxemburg, but ended up as Margaret Dumont, i.e., foil for the wrong Marx.

So, now, the party long famous for having the votes of the dead, seeks to run, at best, a barely living candidate for President: Joe Biden, a vacuous old crook, perhaps the most dishonest major Dem politician but for Hillary Clinton--she's hard to match. Biden has had a long political career of no notable achievements or thoughts, one marked by unrestrained ambition, corruption, plagiarism, and invented tales of derring-do. Whether confronting a vicious armed gang member at a public swimming pool, or standing up to armed Boers, Joe has "done" it all--well, in his mind, at least. Baron Munchausen has nothing on him. He believes in nothing discernible except getting rich thanks to his office, and sharing access to that wealth with his family.

Joe will become and do whatever his handlers decide he will become and do; those handlers have chosen to go with the comfortable, maleable, old shoe corruption of adled millionaire (Groucho) Marxist Joe Biden, rather than take a chance with the delusional power madness of ailing millionaire (Karl) Marxist Bernie Sanders.

Trump 2020.