Scattershots – 9mar20 (updated 12mar20)

George Rebane

Those whose policies cannot create wealth must champion policies that redistribute existing wealth.

So you think that if you get some flu-like symptoms, just go in and get tested for COVID-19, and then they’ll do the rest and take care of you.  Hah!  My east coast spy sent me the link (here) to a an unfolding saga of what is probably more prevalent than not across the country.  Remember, if there’s a problem ANYWHERE, your first look-see should be the government, on which you can make book on being at fault or the cause.  So enjoy, and don't touch anyone or anything or …;  I think levitation is the best bet if you can do it.

[10mar20 update]  Trump can’t bluff or bully the epidemic, so correctly argues Walter Russell Mead in the 10mar20 WSJ (here). And the hits Trump will take won’t really depend on how the fed responds to COVID-19.  This is a complex nationwide problem affecting multiple fronts, it's a bona fide black swan.  The feds have never responded to such things without big goof-ups here and there, and this time it will be the same, no matter who is in the White House.  But today the TDS crowd, now fervently praying for death and destruction in this election year, has some well-oiled, built-in ammo with its lamestream to fire against the administration.  As WRM says, “the media multitudes who loathe Mr. Trump will do everything they can to turn the epidemic into a Hurricane Katrina event. That would be easy to do even if the government’s response is near-flawless; epidemics are messy. There will almost certainly be heartbreaking tragedies that can plausibly be blamed on administration policies. There will be shortages of medical supplies. Some hospitals will be stretched past the breaking point. The bureaucracy and its leadership will inevitably fall short in many ways. In an election year when health care is a major political issue, every failure and problem in the coronavirus response will be politicized and publicized, putting the administration on the defensive as the economy falters and the virus spreads.”  The coronavirus will indeed be President Trump’s greatest foe, one against which the best policies, let alone his standard repertoire of responses, will be inadequate in many (most?) eyes.

Democracy or Winner-take-all.  The Dems are playing both sides of the street on this for their presidential candidates.  In the primaries they want proportional allocation of delegates to the their July convention.  However, in the November election for president, they want to do winner takes all the Electoral College votes, which disenfranchises the minorities in each state.  Another case of ‘Do as I say, and not …’.

[12mar20 update]  Bernie Sanders claims to have won the ideological battle because he convinced the young that capitalism is bad and socialism is good.  And the young are the future.  But what he and other collectivists have missed in the past is that the young age, gain realworld experience, and change their minds about socialism.  Perhaps this time it will be different.  But Bernie is headed for his political sunset, and he must hope that Bumblebrain Biden will pick up the gauntlet and carry it past goal line.  Bernie’s departing line continues to be that his “democratic socialism” is not what the USSR had which was “autocratic communism”.  According to Bernie and his guileless followers, the slogan to remember is “Real socialism hasn’t been tried!”  David Harsanyi writes (here), “ leftists like Bernie like to act as if socialist ideology is incompatible with totalitarianism, when the opposite is true. The nationalization of industry and dispensing with property rights — necessary for any genuine socialism to occur — can’t be instituted without coercion and a centralized authoritarian effort. And even if the effort to redistribute property is first supported by the majority, as soon the state comes for your stuff — and it always does — the “democratic” part of the equation starts to dissipate.”

Today’s men beware of the women activists who claim to have been victims of sexual harassment and predation.  It is apparently legal for people, especially employers, to ask whether someone is or has been involved in law suits of various kinds before entering into a relationship.  Therefore it might be prudent for a man contemplating a relationship with a woman to find out whether he might be stepping into a snare.  Given the number of websites that offer access to publicly available personal information databases, wouldn’t it be useful to have accessible a database on women who have publicly accused or sued men for sexual issues?  Online dating services could even include that in their clients’ data sheets.  In light of today’s greatly expanded definitions of sexual misconduct, what man would want to get involved with a woman who has a record publicly accusing men of such misconduct?  Making such information readily available would both reduce future issues (real and imagined), and temper such gratuitous allegations in the future.

Comments

[Bill Tozer]

Stores running out of toilet paper and bottled water, people panicking and fighting over germ killing sanitizers, doctors running out of supplies....this is just a normal day under socialism.

Quote of the day (yesterday)

“I don’t shake people’s hands because of the Kung Flu virus. I don’t shake people’s hands because they ran out of toilet paper.”

[Bill Tozer]

Man, did I ever butcher my quote above.

It went something like this: The reason i do not shake people’s hands it not because of the Coronavirus. The reason I don’t shake people’s hands is because they have run out of toilet paper.

[Bill Tozer]

@BuckSexton
·
2h
The new “wash your hands, cover your mouth when coughing” public service announcements on the NYC subway would be more confidence inspiring if the whole station didn’t already smell of urine and garbage
———
@BuckSexton
·
Of all the political absurdities of our current moment, the implication that we would all be better off facing this pandemic if “where am I, what am I doing here?” Joe Biden were in charge is both the most laughable and the most insane
——-

Buck Sexton
@BuckSexton

This game many journos are playing where they attack the president’s Coronavirus response- then turn around to sanctimoniously claim anyone arguing against them “makes it political but this is above politics”-

it’s just tedious gaslighting.

Trump haters always so predictable.

[Bill Tozer]

Re: March 10 update (for those of us too cheap to subscribe to the WSJ)

‘Trump has met his Hurricane Katrina, media declare for the umpteenth time’

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-has-met-his-hurricane-katrina-media-declare-for-the-umpteenth-time
——————
‘Chinese Propagandists Stoke Theory That Coronavirus Originated in U.S.’

“The purpose is to lessen the focus on how China bungled its response,” Yang said. “It’s a kind of blame-shifting.””

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/coronavirus-chinese-state-media-amplify-theory-conspiracy-theory-coronavirus-originated-in-us/

[scenes]

"Yang said. “It’s a kind of blame-shifting.””"

Even that assumes that the government there didn't respond reasonably well for a government. Personally, I'd tend to blame the country's laissez-faire approach to hygiene and diet along with population density plus the simple mathematics of disease. As Bill Clinton sez, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

You gotta admit that it's interesting to live in a place where 1/2 the country prays for disaster, at least the kind with good election timing.

[Bill Tozer]

Mark Steyn’s take: ‘Corona Catch-22’

“Despite such precautions, here in New Hampshire, Ground Zero happens to be my own dear county of Grafton. A week ago, I recalled that in the SARS scare of 2003 it was the Ontario health care system that infected Canadians and Americans. In the Granite State, as I discussed on the radio last week, it's again the medical profession. An employee of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire's largest hospital, returned from Italy, tested positive, was ordered to self-quarantine, and instead went to a social gathering of Hitchcock residents and Tuck Business School students in White River Junction, Vermont.

At which he infected other DHMC personnel.

The chances of catching the Coronavirus are still quite slim in New Hampshire. But, if you do want to catch it, the easiest way to do so is to go to the hospital.“

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0320/steyn031020.php3

[George Rebane]

Good inputs and insights dear people, keep 'em coming.

Hope everyone is keeping an eye on how the various nationalized healthcare systems are dealing with COVID-19. A lot of people hereabouts want to put us in the same boat.

[scenes]

re: GeorgeR@11:37AM

At least it's a good shot across the bow.

In a world that is being blessed with a messianic need for diversity, cheap plane tickets, brittle long-distance supply chains, third world overpopulation, maybe it's just as well that people wash their hands and stop going to mass events. If not this disease then the next will do.

A certain degree of prepping against a broad spectrum of poor outcomes isn't such a bad plan.

Like Mr. Spengler sez, "Optimism is Cowardice".

[Scott O]

I'm trying not to get sucked into the whole idea of just how much concern/worry/prepping/panic/whatever that I'm supposed to be exhibiting. And Trump shouldn't either. It does not matter what he does or does not do - he will be crucified by the folks with TDS and the never-Trumpers will disect and tut-tut every word. You can bet that no matter what happens, there will be talking heads rattling on with perfect hindsight about what should have done. No matter how much public money is spent, the Dems will declare they wanted to spend more as proof they could have handled everything perfectly. If the feds roll out the testing kits too slowly, everyone will be pointing fingers at Trump and if they rush the kits out quickly, some how they will be complaining that they don't work perfectly or a kit made someone sick and there will be lawsuits and finger-pointing at Trump.
The Feds have their part to play in gathering and monitoring info on the spread of CV and pretty soon the spigot will have to open to bail out the too-big-to-fail businesses.
The financial pain will certainly be real - we live in a world economy and other major industrial countries are shutting down all over. Combine that with an American economy reeling from folks all hiding in their homes and we are in for a tough time. The financial fallout will, of course, be blamed on Trump as well.
Nothing will stop the pandemic - the best outcome is that not everyone gets it all at once and over-whelms our medical resources. There are still all sorts of things you have a better chance of dying from, so just use common sense. If you are ill from ANY communicable disease you shouldn't be out in public spreading it around and always wash your hands after being out in public. My parents taught me that when I was maybe 4 or 5. Our own actions, collectively, have far more to do with how this disease spreads and it's effects on us and our economy than anything the govt can do. But that's not what the public wants to hear.
Stay tuned.

[Walt]

Call out the troops.. Let's get the panic going.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-adds-5-new-covid-19-cases-tri-state-total-more-than-triples-in-days/2319688/

And just what are the troops going to do?

[Scott O]

Walt 5:21 - "And just what are the troops going to do?"
Because the people expect the govt to DO SOMETHING!!!!
It's a combination of CYA and virtue-signalling.
Plus - if the toilet paper riots get out of hand they can start shooting!

[Walt]

The police state the LIBS have dreamed of.

[Bill Tozer]

It’s getting crazy out there....and so cruel.

Of course New Zealanders can’t relate. They have their own toilet paper factory and when all else fails, they can ride down the backs of sheep. Millions of sheep.

* New Zealanders mock Australians over toilet paper shortage

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/new-zealanders-mock-australians-over-toilet-paper-shortage.html
—-
*Ah, the press to the rescue. Another use for The Union. Too bad MSNBC doesn’t have a print edition.

Australian paper prints blank pages to help tackle toilet paper shortage

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/world/coronavirus-australia-toilet-paper-scli-intl/index.html
—-
*But why this crush for toilet paper? Let’s ask the experts:

‘Why are people stockpiling toilet paper?
As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, communities are responding to the treat in some unusual ways.’

“Recent days have seen reports of shortages of hand sanitiser and warnings that batteries and other electronic items could be next. However, the surge in demand for one particular commodity has seen supermarket shelves stripped bare: toilet paper.

It’s not just Australians. Shops in Japan, the US and New Zealand have also run low on the precious sanitary rolls. In Hong Kong, ambitious thieves held up a supermarket to steal a delivery.

But why toilet paper? The question has been in the air for at least the past month, but it’s now become hard to avoid. We asked four experts for their thoughts.”....

“Toilet paper symbolises control. We use it to “tidy up” and “clean up”. It deals with a bodily function that is somewhat taboo.

When people hear about the coronavirus, they are afraid of losing control. And toilet paper feels like a way to maintain control over hygiene and cleanliness.”

“People don’t seem interested in substitutes. Supermarket shelves are still full of other paper towels and tissues.“

https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/health/news/why-are-people-stockpiling-toilet-paper

Ah, hogwash. The answer is simple. Have you ever used poison oak leaves as toilet paper? I rest my case.

[scenes]

"Have you ever used poison oak leaves as toilet paper?"

I tend to just stick to fiberglass insulation.

Not a bad interview on Captain Trips and a few other health things (why have I not heard it called this yet?).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw&feature=youtu.be

[Bill Tozer]

Re:
“Democracy or Winner-take-all. The Dems are playing both sides of the street on this for their presidential candidates. In the primaries they want proportional allocation of delegates to the their July convention. However, in the November election for president, they want to do winner takes all the Electoral College votes, which disenfranchises the minorities in each state. Another case of ‘Do as I say, and not …’.” Prose by Dr Rebane.

Let’s check his theory out, shall we? Let’s go straight to an DNC expert on the matter.

“First of all, I want to talk to my Republicans. Stay the hell out of our race! Stay the hell out of our race! I get sick and tired, Ed and Sandra, of listening to Republicans tell me and the Democrats about our process. First of all, they don’t have a process. They are canceling primaries. They have winner take all. They don’t have the kind of democracy that we see on the Democratic side, and for people to use Russian talking points to sew division among Americans, that is stupid. So Ronna, go to hell!”— Former DNC Chair, the gracious and lovely Donna Brazile.

Key takeaway: “ They (R’s) have winner take all. They don’t have the kind of democracy that we see on the Democratic side..”. [for the Dem primaies]

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/donna-brazile-shocks-foxs-ed-henry-by-telling-ronna-mcdaniel-go-to-hell/

You mean like each state breaks down into different delegates for different canidates...kind of a intra-state mini Electoral College thang? Each area, town, highway and byway represented? Sounds good to me.
—-
Let’s check another source.

"If you have the delegates and win, you will win", Brazile said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/03/donna-brazile-ronna-mcdaniel-go-to-hell-119492

Final takeaway: Dr Rebane’s theory is not a theory nor a hypothesis. A proven fact, Jack.

[Bill Tozer]

Scenes @ 10:06 pm

Just to let you know, I watched the entire video last night. Most informative. Every darn minute of that long long hour plus interview was good. So good, I watched another Rogan show after that one.

[Walt]

Things can't be all that bad,, the pastie toss is still on.

[scenes]

re: BillT@11:46AM

Well, it isn't like the network news is going to be informational.

Just sayin'.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21421934

" In Study 1, individuals in a public setting who were given a reminder of physical cleansing reported being more politically conservative than did individuals who were not given such a reminder. "

Hand cleanser = conservative. Go figure.

[Bill Tozer]

Re: Today's men beware of women activists and the dating scene

https://www.westernjournal.com/lawsuit-college-suspended-male-student-not-dating-woman-kissed/

[Todd Juvinall]

Gasoline in Cleveland today. $1.74

[Bill Tozer]

Re: Today’s men beware

STEVE WYNN VINDICATED

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/03/steve-wynn-vindicated.php
——————
This one my blood boil, glad judge explained reasoning at the end.

‘Court Outlines How School Railroaded Accused Male Student, But Upholds His Expulsion’

https://www.dailywire.com/news/court-outlines-how-school-railroaded-accused-male-student-but-upholds-his-expulsion