George
A. Sprecace M.D.,
J.D., F.A.C.P. and Allergy
Associates of New
London,
P.C.
www.asthma.drsprecace.com
RAPID
RESPONSE...Daily Commentary on News of the Day
This is a new section.
It will offer
fresh, quick reactions by myself to news and events of the day, day by
day, in this rapid-fire world of ours. Of course, as in military
campaigns, a rapid response in one direction may occasionally have to
be followed by a "strategic withdrawal" in another direction. Charge
that to "the fog of war", and to the necessary flexibility any mental
or military campaign must maintain to be effective. But the mission
will always be the same: common sense, based upon facts and "real
politick", supported by a visceral sense of Justice and a commitment to
be pro-active. That's all I promise.
GS
Those of you who have lived around my neck of the woods will
identify that comment, preceding about 10 minutes of always clear,
concise and pithy Homily.
Today, my brief consideration
prescribes how we all should approach the challenges of life – great
and small. NOT “What if…”, Outcome Oriented. But rather “Let’s work the
problem at hand”, Process Oriented.
Our challenge today is the COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
The
approach: Know the Known and Knowable. Know and accept the Unknown and
Unknowable (with reluctant appreciation to Donald Rumsfeld). And use
History as a very valuable guide. In this case, read “THE GREAT
INFLUENZA: The story of the deadliest pandemic in History”, by John M.
Barry (Penguin Books, 2004). A monumental work and a great read, it has
lessons for us, largely in the area of the fallibility of Man,
especially when he or she assumes a Leadership position! This book is
fascinating and painful to read, presenting in excruciating detail the
first, mild wave of the Influenza in the early Spring of 1918, followed
by the tragic second wave in the Summer and early Fall of 1918, and
ending with the third wave in the Spring of 1919. This course and
outcome was guaranteed by America’s entry into WWl in the Winter of
1918, immediately followed by the mobilization of 2 Million men into
armed service in extremely crowded conditions in barracks, in hospitals
and in transit within and without the States and in Europe.
That
was a unique invader, ultimately acknowledged to be a virus, not like
those of the epidemics of 1889-90 or of 1913 or 1957 or 1968 or 2003 or
of the others of this 21st century – so far. And so is this invader of
2019 – 2020. Only some lessons of 1918 are applicable to us now. Use
them…and know their limitations.
In fact, the greatest take-away
from that terrible experience is the fact that then President Woodrow
Wilson, who went to Peace Treaty in 1919 committed to establishing a
Just and lasting peace, himself caught a severe case of the Influenza,
with neuro-psychologic sequela, did not recognize his now - frail
state, insisted on continuing his role against the blood-lust of
Georges Clememceau, ultimately gave in to the French demands for
vengeance against the Germans – and thereby guaranteed the Second World
War and beyond. Thus, “The Great Influenza” can be said to have caused
the world we have been living in for a century.
Now back to the present Problem.
The
Corona virus kills…1%. It is treatable, but must be recognized and
treated early and aggressively, also in recognition of the missed and
learned errors and opportunities, specifically including the central
importance of an out-of-control Immune System and its Treatment!
It has a high but controllable infection rate with use of modest but
prolonged “social distancing” (6 Feet, masks, and COMMON SENSE). It may
resolve and then come back, but this time to a prepared and largely
immune population (from both passive and active immunization).
And
this time, it will encounter the realization of two patients: one in
bed – and one at home trying to figure out how to feed and clothe his
or her children and elders…these patients of Equal Importance, both
personally and to the health and survival of this nation!
So:
Work the Problem with the Facts, with No undue anxiety, no panic, no
childish revolt…and with Prayer and Common Sense.
HERE IS A POT POURRI
THAT WILL BE A PLEASANT SCENT TO SOME, AND A STINK TO OTHERS.
These statements are all based on a large number of specific published
articles - and on a lifetime of careful observation by yours truly.
1) Look up two articles in Medscape.com that relate to the experiences
o health care providers on the front lines...and to their anguish
("moral injury") in their private moments.
2) "Black Americans Are In An Abusive Relationship With The Democratic
Party". Absolutely!
3) America's "Full Faith And Credit" are not worth a plug nickle when
it comes to our relationship with and support of Native Americans - the
first Americans. See the article in Medpagetoday, May 21, 2020.
4) "Telemedicine" is now all the rage. I have been offering this
service in audio without charge to my patients for decades. And I never
called it "Boutique Medicine" or "Concierge Medicine."
5) "1.5 Million Unemployed Health-Care Workers Signal A Failed System".
And this is supposed to be evidence for a "One-Payor
System." No, this is the result of "adjusting" downward by
50% or more the fair fees earned by physicians and other health car
providers while ignoring the massive amount of unpaid services
regularly provided by these highly educated, trained, motivated and
experienced professionals. You want Rationing, vicious Triage, and
suffocating big Government? That's a "One-Payor System"
6) In a massive casualty situation, whether military or civilian, you
don't wait for results of "double-blind/crossover studies". You go with
experience and intuition - and with whatever facts may exist at the
time for action. For this Pandemic, several possibilities have offered
themselves. The most famous / notorious is Hydroxychloroquine. The jury
is still out on that. Others include: monitoring pO2 levels from an
early stage; the prone position in bed; Vitamin D; ACE Inhibitors and
ACE Receptor Inhibitors; STEROIDS to suppress an Inflammatory /
Cytokine System out of control; SARS antibody and plasma treatments;
Nitric Oxide. And perhaps more.
See the article by Scott Gottleib, M.D., former Commissioner of the FDA
(in WSJ May 18, 2020, Opinion, pA17).
7) Here, I may be repeating myself. But this bears repetition:
"That's why the People have to take charge again:"...of the people, by
the people, for the people"...Not "of the politicians". They've got to
get off their asses in front of the TV or the computer - and
PARTICIPATE."
8) What can we do about the now-evident tragedy of Nursing Homes? Under
the best of circumstances, they are incubators for infections and
epidemics. How about Federal assistance for Home Care Services, for
families building space for their elderly, for healthcare home medical
visits at an adequate rate? And how about re-thinking the
rampant culture of of death, at both ends of human life. How about
paying adequately for home care services, for families building
adequate space for their parents, for home visit medical care...?
"Wouldn't That Be Loverly?"
GS
FRIDAY,
May 22,
2020
RR#1
HERE IS SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ON COVID-19,
without a "hair-on-fire" tone.
1) "The Evidence On Kids And Covid",
Editorial in WSJ, May 21, 2020, pA16. Well done, and not even
a medical journal.
2) "Dr. Fauci, We Need A Second Opinion",
a well-presented Paid Advertisement in the WSJ May 21, 2020, pA11.
GS
RR#2
NOW THIS IS NOT COMPLICATED. AND I HAVE ALREADY SUGGESTED IT:
Take Vitamin D3, 1,000 units daily - and have your 25 - OH Vitamin D
level checked soon. This is not medical advice; under the
circumstances, it's common sense.
"Prohibition's lesson: When laws are too heavy-handed, it can promote
disrespect for the law in general."
GS
RR#3
MORE LURID NEWS FROM THE EDUCATIONAL MUSTANG RANCH.
Read this Editorial: "California Defines Testing Down"
(in WSJ Monday, May 18, 2020, pA15).
Then get really angry...especially Blacks and other minority groups who
have been raped educationally over the last 40 + years by their
Democratic Party.
Students "graduated" from high school who should not have been
graduated from grammar school will now be able to sneak into "colleges"
through the back door - and waste another four years of their lives.
Forget about any chance to learn something, to improve themselves, to
have a real life!
Forget the bought and sold Black "leaders". I'm talking to my Black
fellow citizens, my friends, my patients: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO
WAKE UP?
GS
WEDNESDAY,
May 20,
2020
RR#1
HARDLY BELIEVABLE. "FORE!!"
GS
For All You Golfers………………. Found
on a Jacksonville golf course. This
is why you shouldn't go looking for the golf balls hit 'Out of Bounds'
in Florida !!! THIS
IS NOT A PYTHON! This
is a 15 foot Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake - the largest ever caught
on record. This
snake was found Near the St. Augustine outlet, in a new KB homes
subdivision just south of Jacksonville FL. A
little research revealed the following: One
bite from a snake of this size would contain enough venom to kill over
40 full grown men. The
head of this snake alone is larger than the hand of a normal sized man.
A
bite from those fangs would be comparable to being stabbed by two
curved, 1/4 inch diameter screwdrivers. The
knife being used to draw out the fangs for the bottom picture has a
blade around 6 inches long. This
snake is estimated to have weighed over 170 pounds. (How
much do you weigh?) Notice
the girth of this snake as compared to the cop's leg in the first
picture (and he is not a small man). A
snake of this size could easily swallow a 2 year-old child (and dogs,
pigs, etc). A
snake this size has an approximately 5 1/2 foot accurate striking
distance. (The
distance for an average size rattlesnake is about 2 feet . ) This
snake has probably been alive since George Bush Sr.was President. Now
just ask yourself these questions: What
has this snake been feeding on and where are its offspring? LET'S
GO PLAY SOME GOLF IN FLORIDA EXTERNAL
EMAIL: Do not click any links or open any attachments unless you trust
the sender and know the content is safe.
THE CHINA EXPOSE' IS THE ONE VITAL SILVER LINING TO THIS PANDEMIC.
President Trump knows it and is prepared to act - once he can
demonstrate the support of the People in the next election.
GS
TUESDAY,
May 19,
2020
ONCE
AGAIN, WITH FEELING:
the November election process and results will determine whether
America as we know it survives under the Constitution - or whether it
dissolves into permanent social unrest or civil war.
Pay attention. Our future is RIGHT NOW.
I AM AN UNDERLINER...ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.
Here
are three articles on the current Pandemic, especially the first two,
that deserve your critical attention. Almost the entirety of my copies
are underlined.
Better than bitching and
moaning.
1) "Scenes From The Class Struggle In Lockdown".
by Peggy Noonan (in WSJ May 16-17, 2020, Opinion, pA15).
2) "Experts Aren't Enough", by Yuval
Levin (in WSJ ibid, Review, pC3).
3) "The Lockdown Skeptic They Couldn't Silence",
by Allysia Finley (in WSJ ibid, Opinion, pA13). "Two-and-a-half hours
after this interview appeared on the Journal's website Friday
afternoon, a reader wrote in to report the essay was gone."
GS
RR#4
YOU'RE NOT LIKELY TO GET THIS INFORMATION IN THE MAINSTREAM PRESS.
1) Science, Scientists, Service and Command Status
Scientists are certainly not beyond playing "oneupmanship."
Some
scientists have declared hydroxychloroquine to be "ineffective" in
treating COVID-19. Then why has the NIH just announced a controlled
study to test that specific proposition?
And then there is Dr.
Anthony Fauci, a good man and a good scientist, trying to stretch his
proper role from Advisor / Service to Leader / Command...while making
sure that - in a worst case scenario - he can say "I Told You So".
Then there is the constant, obvious and craven Politics of the insane
Left and of their Democrat prisoners. NOT HELPFUL.
2)
As Attorney General William Barr fulfills his proper role in the
FBI/Justice Department / Obama investigation, Judge Emmit Sullivan toys
with prostituting his proper role and his reputation by placing his
foot on the scales of Justice in the Flynn case. See the article by
Kimberly Strassel in WSJ May 15, 2020. See also the article by Daniel
Henninger entitled "The
Flynn Debauchery", WSJ May 14, 2020.
3)
What is it with Senator Lindsey Graham? He is not a RINO. But is he a
chameleon? The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled
No hearings on the numerous fraudulent and probably criminal activities
perpetrated by high government officials over the last years since the
Obama administration. This is reminiscent of the Bill Clinton SOP, he
of the moistened finger held into the wind. Remember that? If not,
check out my web site section entitled "The Clinton Presidency".
4)
One of the several and growing number of medical mysteries
surrounding treatment of COVID-19 infection, reported during
the
last several weeks in this section, is the disparity between a very low
but surprisingly well-tolerated pO2 - until the bottom drops out and
the patient is suddenly in the ICU. See the related article in the WSJ
May 11, 2020, p1. That observation warrants the early and regular
monitoring of pO2's in "mildly infected" patients.
See also the very worrisome multi-system disease increasingly affecting
children. It is highly
likely
- again as already discussed here - that the cause is an Inflammatory /
Cytokine System run amok...and that the treatment should involve the
early and effective use of STEROIDS.
5) NOW HEAR THIS!
Our nation is now at greater risk than on December 7, 1941.
a)
Regarding "opening up the country", if we had decided after that
attack to fight a One Front war against the Japanese,
ignoring
Britain and Europe, we would now be speaking German! This is a Two
Front War which we must fight and win simultaneously, while taking
casualties on both Fronts!
b) The nation is divided now as badly as it was when Abraham Lincoln
took office as President. Remember what happened then.
c) The November 2020 election results MUST BE PERCEIVED as having
produced a Fair Result.
Beware the efforts to incorporate methods of voter fraud (eg. voting by
mail, diluting voter ID...) - and of destroying the time-honored role
of Electoral College.
6) Beware Germany as an ally. Take nothing for granted.
See: "Trump Envoy
Accuses Germany Of Undermining NATO'S Nuclear Deterrent",
in Reuters, May 14, 2020.
7) Beware China...in every way.
8)
Beware the "Ultra-Conservatives" in an organization that purports to
have one billion members: The Catholic Church. The Church has many
enemies from without. But it is in danger of collapse from within, with
who-knows-what alternatives. The most recent Stupidity is the attack by
the "Ultras" on Pope Francis for his inter-Faith outreach.
How
about this: The "Ultras" should declare a Schism, should go their own
way, and let the Church Heal with the medicines that were first offered
in Vatican 2 in the 1960's - and which were trashed by those same
"Ultras" in the succeeding decades. The alternative: Pope Francis could
embrace his responsibility as Vicar of Christ on Earth and could act
accordingly.
Our
nation has a cancer called collectivism. Collectivism exists only so
long as individuals are coerced into believing they have no right to
exist. The coercion of individuals in America is insidiously
accomplished through indoctrination via government schools, illiberal
higher education institutions and biased media outlets. Collectivism
is not collective. A group cannot act unless individuals in the group
act. Individual action is a priori. The group is illusory, a chimera.
The false premise that individuals are inherently evil and must be
continually monitored to prevent them from creating inequality is a
ruse used by individuals in the collective to coerce other individuals
to believe their individuality must be sacrificed at the altar of the
collective. Dependency is the fuel of collectivism, unlimited
government the milieu in which it thrives. The inevitable dichotomy of
collectivism is socialism for thee but not for me. A perverted
aristocracy is established where the human race finds itself not in a
medieval, but a modern Dark Age. Collectivism is utopia wrapped in
temporal gifts which upon opening reveal barbed wire and genocide. It
must be snuffed out.
Alternatively,
Individualism is founded upon the belief that individuals are endowed
with Liberty (freedom
of individual responsibility)
that this endowment comes not from man but from God. That individuals
are inherently good and any restrictions on their voluntary actions,
provided their actions do not harm others physically, psychologically
or financially, are prohibited. Liberty is an integral part of human
DNA, a survival gene without which the species would have perished
millennia ago. Each individual has the right to an equal opportunity.
Results vary based on individual decisions.
A
brief history of the 20th Century does not present a salutary report on
Government:
World
War I: 40 million individuals murdered because of European governments
and the individuals within those governments who had absolute control
over the levers of power.
USSR
in the 1930’s: 30+ million individuals murdered by a socialist
government where individuals within that government had absolute
control over the levers of power.
World
War II: Two socialist and one monarchical government started the war
which resulted in the murder of 70 million individuals.
Late
1940’s– 2000’s: Chinese Communist Government with individuals wielding
absolute control over the levers of power murdered 60+ million
individuals. It continues….
Dishonorable
mentions: Socialist governments: Pol Pot Regime, Cambodia, North Korea,
Cuba, Venezuela. Dictatorships: African despots, Radical Islam.
Democratic
republics: No comparison, so far.
What
is this obsession with government and especially unlimited government?
If there is anything in this world that needs to be limited and used
sparingly, it is government.
Evil
exists. Each individual has the potential to be tempted by it. There
are, however, more safe guards against individuals obtaining absolute
control over the levers of power in the private sector than in
government. I would rather fight a thousand business men and women
under the rule of law than one government official under the law of
police power, especially if they are evil.
Utopia
is impossible.
Dystopia
is possible and to be avoided at all cost. All government, and
especially collectivist ones, tend toward Dystopia. This does not mean
anarchy is the answer. Far from it. It’s just that we may
have
this government thing backwards. Instead of national, state and local,
let’s try local, state and national. Let’s have the broadest government
involvement be local where individuals have the best chance to be heard
and their choices honored. From there government involvement lessens
and its authority becomes more limited.
Collectivism
and Individualism are irreconcilable. There is no need for us to get
into the weeds, asking why all should be thus or so? We know
it
is either/or. Collectivism or Individualism. Choose Individualism. It
has a track record of liberty and prosperity for the greatest number of
individuals. Collectivism has a track record of bondage and disparity
for the greatest number of individuals, excluding, of course, party
members.
The
United States of America is exceptional because it is the only state
ever in the course of human history, written or oral, where Liberty has
been so elevated and enshrined.
“Give
me Liberty, or give me death!” A declaration of the ultimate purpose of
creation: Freedom of individual responsibility.
RR#2
WHAT HAVE I BEEN SAYING FOR WEEKS?
"Service vs. Command!
THIS IS INFORMATION WORTH ACTING ON.
In
view of the near epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency in the general
population, I suggest: a) start taking Vitamin D 3,1,000 units daily,
and b) getting your doctor to order a 25 OH D3 blood test soon.
This is not medical advice, just a strong suggestion.
EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ACCUSED STUDENTS, A LONG TIME COMING.
NOW LET'S GIVE THEM FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
GS
"For
too many years, Title IX has been used to beat down American college
students falsely accused of sexual misconduct and as an excuse to
inhibit free speech," said AFA Action vice president Rob Chambers. "Too
many innocent lives have been harmed by the lack of justice found on
campuses across the country."
U.S. Secretary of
Education Betsy Devos said of the new regulation, "Too many students
have lost access to their education because their school inadequately
responded when a student filed a complaint of sexual harassment or
sexual assault. … This new regulation requires schools to act in
meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without
sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent
process."
Taken directly from a press release posted at ed.gov, key provisions of the Department
of Education's new Title IX regulation include:
Holds
colleges responsible for off-campus sexual harassment at houses owned
or under the control of school-sanctioned fraternities and sororities
Restores
fairness on college and university campuses by upholding all students'
right to written notice of allegations, the right to an advisor, and
the right to submit, cross-examine, and challenge evidence at a live
hearing
Requires
schools to select one of two standards of evidence, the preponderance
of the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence standard
– and to apply the selected standard evenly to proceedings for all
students and employees, including faculty
Requires
schools to offer an equal right of appeal for both parties to a Title
IX proceeding
Protects
students and faculty by prohibiting schools from using Title IX in a
manner that deprives students and faculty of rights guaranteed by the
First Amendment
SUNDAY,
May 10,
2020
ABOUT THE
PANDEMIC: THERE ARE TWO PATIENTS:
the patient in the bed, and the patient at home trying to feed his
family.
Whether the Experts are wrong or not - and they Have Been Wrong with
their Projections and with their Medical Treatments -
they are enabling (intentionally or not) TYRANNY.
AMERICA COULD BE THE ULTIMATE AND GREATEST FATALITY.
OK. SO YOU'RE ISOLATED AT HOME...OR YOU'RE "ALONE IN A CROWD".
Instead
of playing mindless games or watching mindless shows, how about staying
up-to-speed with actual Factual information that will make the next
several months Fascinating?
Here are some articles (reliable, not Fake News) that are worth your
while and mine. Sorry, you'll have to look them up.
1) "What Trump Has In Common With Napoleon" - WSJ May 7, 2020.
2) "Our Republic Is Under Assault" - Judicial Watch, Verdict, May 2020.
3) "New Rule Strengthens Rights Of The Accused" (on and off campus) -
WSJ May 7, 2020.
3) "CVS Warns Of Nonvirus Health Crisis" (with people ignoring their
serious underlying health issues) - WSJ May 7, 2020.
4) And a group of articles attending to our Spiritual Side:
a)
"U.S. Bishops: Coronavirus Response Must Be Ethical" ( regarding the
ethical application of Triage) - National Catholic Register, April 26,
2020.
b) "The Power Of Prayer" (real and documented) - CatholicLeague,
Catalyst May 20, 2020.
c) "Trump Warns Of Drugs, Depression, Suicides" - Ibid.
d) "The Historic Role Of 20th Century Popes" (a little perspective,
please; remember what we've been through) - Ibid.
e)
"Abortion Essentials" ( the national cancer in our midst...a Pandemic
much worse than COVID-19) - National Catholic Register, April 26, 2020.
f) And to end this offering on a light note: "Music And St. Therese:
Marie Miller's 'Little Dreams'" - Ibid.
"Each one of us has a
unique quest, something only we can do to make the world more
beautiful, more humane, more fraternal".
AMEN.
SO MANY STORIES TO FOLLOW.
Here's an index and bibliography - and of course my opinions.
1) This Pandemic is War:
a Two-Front War, regarding personal and also economic health,
each equally important now and each equally sustaining its own
casualties. In fighting this War, there are Advisors and Leaders: as in
the Military, a Command structure and a Service structure. Beware the
Advisors trying to take over Leadership (now in the hands of Governors
in a Federalist System of U.S. Government). And regarding the Advisors,
Beware their tendency to charge beyond their supply structure.
See the recent article in the WSJ May 6, 2020: "Imprecise Data Muddy Virus Death
Forecasts".
2) Popular Leftist
Stories:
a) #MeToo:
Faced with Biden's "Hand Trouble", they are changing their tune.
See: "Al Franken's
Revenge", in WSJ May 5, 2020.
b) "Racism..."
Always a "mulligan" for that gang of Black "leaders" who haven't had an
original idea in decades.
See: "Personal
Responsibility And Covid-19", WSJ May 5, 2020.
See: "We Asked 30,000
Black Americans...", Yahoo.com may 3, 2020.
See: "COVID-19, Vitamin
D, And Latitude", in mdlinx.com April 21, 2020.
c) "Russia and
Trump...and Flynn". BANKRUPT!
d) The Leftists' Siren
Song: Despotism, Socialism, Totalitarianism.
See: "Here Come COVID-19
Tracing Apps - And Privacy Trade-Offs", in The Day.com,
May 5,2020.
See the recent video on the subject, Prager U.
3) "MORE STIMULUS, with
pet projects",
vs. Bankruptcy or at least great national vulnerability to adversaries.
Associated Business Liability to benefit that political great supporter
- the American Bar Association - despite the applicability of "Force
Majeure" in Contract Law.
WHEN WILL SOME PHYSICIANS TREATING COVID-19 STOP BEING BLOCKHEADS?
I reported very early on, as descriptions of the clinical courses of
patients became available, that at least part (I believe a large part)
of the pathogenesis of this infection was the result of an overreaction
of the body's Inflammatory mechanism (an integral and often blunt and
dangerous part of our Immune System), also known as the Cytokine System.
I
recommended the early use in serious cases (ie. a dropping pO2 even
without alarming systems) of adequate doses of ADRENOCORTICOSTEROIDS.
Then I read about the diffuse attacks on many organ systems; then the
development of hypercoagulability leading to blood clots anywhere! All
this is consistent with the Inflammatory System run amok, as occurs in
Septic Shock. And even there, many physicians are reluctant to use
"cortisone". STUPID.
And now recently, the American Thoracic
Society came out with several specific recommendations regarding the
treatment of COVID-19 patients with severe distress and illness...and
they REFUSED TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION REGARDING THE USE OF STEROIDS!
"STUPIDO. STUPIDO. STUPIDO"...and now approaching Malpractice, in my
opinion. You Can't Wait For The
Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study! "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"
CALIFORNIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN AMERICA'S EXPERIMENTAL MODEL.
Its
"scientists" have been its present Governor and its two prior
Governors, with the drugged complicity of its "unusual" citizens.
It's been like trying to neutralize the Law of Gravity. A big "splatt".
YOU OLDER FOLK: DO YOU REMEMBER THE SHOW:
"CAN YOU TOP THIS?"
Well, I Certainly Can't. TERRIFIC!
GS
Six
Things the COVID-19 Panic Has Taught Us by
Michael Tennant May
7, 2020
The
responses of public officials and the American public to the COVID-19
pandemic have been highly instructive. Here are just a few of the
things we have learned. No
matter how many times the government has lied to them before, most
people will believe its next tale. Remember
these whoppers? “What
we’re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid
intelligence.” — Secretary of State Colin Powell, telling the United
Nations Security Council about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass
destruction, 2003 “If
you like your doctor, you’ll be able to keep your doctor; if you like
your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan.” —
President Barack Obama, 2009 The
list is endless. Yet when the government tells people that we must all
be placed under virtual house arrest lest COVID-19 decimate the
population, millions of Americans buy it — even though the government
has admitted inflating the statistics to make the pandemic appear worse
than it actually is. Most
politicians are dictators at heart. Consider
how quickly elected officials from governors to mayors jumped at the
chance to bark orders at the people they supposedly serve. In no time
flat and without the slightest constitutional or legal justification
for it, they unilaterally created new laws and suspended existing ones,
criminalizing such heretofore legal activities as surfing, playing
basketball, taking your children to the playground, opening your
business to willing customers, and even going to church. Meanwhile,
like the good dictators that they are, they felt free to violate their
own rules and to arrest and threaten those who protested their
tyrannical actions — or simply to ban protests altogether. Cops
and soldiers are no friends of freedom. Contrary
to the myth that the police and the military are the guarantors of our
liberty, they are the ones who have been enforcing the unconstitutional
dictates of our mini-Mussolinis. Aside from some isolated sheriffs who
have pledged not to enforce certain orders, most police departments
have happily cracked down on shelter-in-place flouters. In Rhode
Island, the National Guard, along with the police, has been used to
illegally search houses for visiting New Yorkers to force them into
quarantine. There is also a secret military task force preparing to
secure Washington, D.C., which Newsweek notes “contradicts” Pentagon
“assurances” that “men and women in uniform are not conducting secret
missions and that they will not administer or enforce ‘stay at home’
quarantines.” If the cops and the military were really guardians of our
freedom, they would be storming nearly every governor’s mansion in the
country and forcing those tinpot tyrants to rescind their
unconstitutional edicts. Politicians
are only concerned about the immediate consequences of their actions. Fearful
of headlines about COVID-19 deaths and jammed hospital emergency rooms,
politicians have locked down their jurisdictions, claiming that
everything else comes second to “saving lives.” They have not, however,
considered that their edicts may cause more suffering than the virus
ever could. The destruction of businesses and livelihoods — the U.S.
unemployment rate may now be worse than it was during the depths of the
Great Depression, and some of those jobs will never return — is already
causing more suicidal thoughts (if not actual suicides), domestic
violence, and other societal ills. The fear of going to the hospital is
inducing people with serious conditions not to seek medical care,
leading to unnecessary deaths at home. Cancer treatments, deemed
“nonessential” by the same people who think abortion clinics must
remain open, are on hold, which will surely result in additional
corpses down the line. The
Left cares nothing about civil liberties. For
all their talk about civil liberties, leftists have been remarkably
quiet when it comes to the violations of said liberties by the various
COVID-19 orders spewed by officials throughout the land. The American
Civil Liberties Union is touting its efforts not to roll back these
egregious constitutional violations for the population as a whole but
“to protect voting rights, demand that vulnerable people in prisons,
jails and immigration detention centers be released, and fight to
ensure reproductive health care remains open and accessible to all who
need it.” Indeed, the Left’s only serious complaint in all of this is
that President Donald Trump, the man they spent four years telling us
was acting like a fascist dictator, hasn’t been dictatorial enough in
his response to the virus. Converting
a relatively free, democratic country into a totalitarian state is a
snap: Just add fear. “Crisis
is the path to happiness. Decay and disintegration do not spell doom,
but ascent and beginning. The powerful forces of a new creation operate
in the hush beyond the noise of the day.” — Joseph Goebbels Told
that over two million Americans would die from COVID-19, people
panicked and demanded that government “do something.” Politicians, only
too happy to oblige, began ordering people to stay home and
“nonessential” businesses to close. Frightened individuals and
institutions — even churches in states where they hadn’t been ordered
to close — knuckled under almost immediately. Hashtags like
#stayhomesavelives and advertisements proclaiming “We’re in this
together” became ubiquitous. The propaganda was so successful that
anyone seeking a return to the ancient way of life (i.e., the relative
freedom we enjoyed in early March) was tagged as “selfish” because, as
Adolf Hitler put it, “the position of the individual is conditioned
solely by the interest of the nation as a whole.” Encouraged by
politicians, people eagerly began reporting their neighbors to the
police for violating COVID-19 orders. One teenager was even allegedly
murdered by his own stepfather for refusing to abide by his state’s
shelter-in-place dictate. How little it would take for a public thus
conditioned to embrace a fully totalitarian state! The
changes brought about in our society in such rapid succession over a
disease that now appears to be hardly more dangerous than the seasonal
flu have shown just how fragile America’s experiment with liberty
really is. Will “saving lives” end up killing freedom?
THURSDAY,
May 7,
2020
WHY ARE WE NOT
HEARING MORE ABOUT THIS SIDE OF THE STORY?
We all know why.
FASCINATING...AND EDUCATIONAL:
In today's world, the more you "know", the less you Know.
Caveat Emptor.
GS
RR#2
A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON OUR "SOCIAL DISTANCING".
GS
TUESDAY,
May 5,
2020
RR#1
MORE ON GLOBAL WARMING...
GS
The
Arctic Ocean is warming , icebergs are growing scarcer and in some
places the seals are finding the water
too hot according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from
US Consulate at Bergen, Norway.
Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a
radical change in climate conditions and
hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic ocean.
Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as
far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes.
Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very
warm.
Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones,
the report continued, while at many
points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.
Very few seals and no white fish are found in the eastern Arctic, while
vast shoals of herring and smelts
which have never before ventured so far north, are being
encountered in the old seal fishing grounds.
Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea
will rise and make most coast cities
uninhabitable.
* * *
*
* * * *
I must apologize. I neglected to mention.
This report was from November 2, 1922,
as reported and published in The Washington Post 98 years ago.
This must have been caused by the Model T Ford's emissions or possibly
from horse and cattle flatulence.
RR#2
ALRIGHT. TIRED OF READING MY ANALYSIS OF THIS CRISIS?
Take a break and read the report of Larry P. Arnn, PhD, President,
Hillsdale College: "THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT CRISIS",
(in Imprimis, March / April, Hillsdale.edu).
But: "I'll Be Back".
GS
MONDAY,
May 4,
2020
A GREAT READ...AND
GREAT ADVICE IN THESE TIMES:
"The Catholic Thing:, Courage: Grace under Pressure",
by Robert Royal.
"TO BE (an open society), OR NOT TO BE? THAT IS THE QUESTION."
Consider this.
The
approach of those who essentially advise staying the course for many
more months is analogous to America in 1941 having turned West and
fought Japan while ignoring the devastation then being visited on
England, Europe and Russia - until those nations had been destroyed, as
they would have been without our involvement. Then would have come our
turn...and we would have Lost.
That was a Two Front War - and so
is this. We must simultaneously fight on the serious Viral front and on
the soon-to-be devastating Economic front (macro and micro). We must be
prepared to take major casualties on both fronts in order to avoid
total defeat...of our people and of our Nation.
Too Dramatic? I think Not.
THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC...MORE FROM YOUR LOCAL OBSERVER.
I have been writing about this since late February in this section.
I can say that I have nothing to retract to date regarding my expressed
opinions, always supported by referenced articles.
But
I refuse to get overwhelmed by listing and Linking those articles - or
to stop sharing my observations and my insights. So here come more,
with plenty of references available in hand.
1) About China.
If there is any silver lining to this miserable experience, it is a too
long delayed insight into the existential threat that
totalitarian China presents for America. That Must and Will finally be
addressed. Review the comments of the President and also of Secretary
of State Pompeo on the subject. Secretary Pompeo is one of our greatest
assets.
2) About Remdesivir, the new medicine for COVID-19.
What: no many months-long Double-Blind Cross-Over studies? In a crisis
like this, it is time for the Academics to step aside for the
Clinicians to care for their patients - based upon their education,
training and experience...and based on the PRACTICE
OF MEDICINE. In fact, I have been calling attention to the current
"standard of care" leaving a lot to be desired: too much dependence on
ventilators vs less intrusive methods of respiratory care - including
the prone position, earlier and heavier use of O2, and especially the
realization of the central role of the Inflammatory System and Cytokine
Storm as the basis of such widespread damage - and the use of adequate
dose ADRENOCORTICOSTEROIDS!
3) About the extent and duration of
"social distancing" - in the extreme and resulting in another massive
category of patients: the tens of millions of Americans out of work and
out of school...a likely long-term chronic disease unless reversed
NOW. What are making this matter much more difficult to
resolve
are: a) the improper role of the Academics as decision-makers; b) the
"holier-than-thou" posture being taken by some politicians working to
preen their future political image; c) a power-grab by Governors - the
Constitution be damned; d) the willingness of the Leftists and of their
intimidated Democratic followers to do and say Anything to destroy
President Trump, now or in November. But the cry from many and ever -
more Americans must be heard:
"TEAR DOWN THIS WALL".
The above observations discuss Substance.
The Tone of reportage on this subject, particularly from the mainstream
media, is also important.
Just compare three recent articles:
1) Two by Lee Elci in The Day:
a) "For A Moment Set
Aside Trump Attacks And Unite", April 22, 2020;
b) "Nothing Is Normal,
and Little Is Practical, About 'New Normal'", April 29,
2020.
2) One by David Collins in The Day, April 30,2020.
"I've Seen COVID-19 Loss
Up Close; I Blame Trump". HAIR ON FIRE!
So:
PAY ATTENTION. BE INVOLVED. PROTECT YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH, YOUR PERSONAL
/ ECONOMIC HEALTH...AND YOUR FREEDOM - LITERALLY! They are all at risk right now!
GS
FRIDAY,
May 1,
2020
AS HAS BEEN SAID AND
DEMONSTRATED MANY TIMES IN THE PAST,
"Those who do not know History are condemned to repeat it".
The
declarations and the actions already mounted by the Far Left and their
craven followers are not to be ignored. These people are despots,
totalitarians, deep in their being. It has always been this way with
such people throughout History.
The demands of the Left and of
their Democratic followers against any opening of Society at this time,
under the ruse of it being a matter of "life and death" represent the
current weapon de jour in achieving their greater goals.
Beware! And be prepared to Fight for your Rights by any means necessary.
GS
Urgent Message From David Horowitz
I am
a Jew, but I know these are especially dangerous times for Christians. The
war on the virus has become a war on Christians. Let
me explain. The
draconian powers of government have been deployed against Christians,
their churches, and their faithful during this pandemic. It is
nothing less than a dry run of government-controlled persecution of
Christians. And
the little pushback these people faced as they trampled over
constitutional freedoms is a dangerous omen. When
I wrote my book Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America back
last year, I had little reason to think it would be a runaway
bestseller . . . In
fact, it continues to this day as a bestseller, topping several book
lists as I write this letter. Back
then, I thought Christian persecution was a reality that would become a
clear and present danger to Christians, and the nation that Christians
created. That danger is now. It is
a danger that I as an American and a Jew fear. I
know the rising acts of violence against Jews and against their
synagogues are linked to the secularist war on traditional America. This
and more shocking revelations are laid out in Dark Agenda. Frankly,
I was also surprised by the reaction the book received. Tucker
Carlson called the book "disturbing" and "vital" and urged his viewers
to get it. Mike
Huckabee called it the best defense of Christianity he ever read. And
Glenn Beck told his radio audience he read Dark Agenda and now believes
America is in the "danger zone." Events
of the last several weeks have brought home the grave danger believers
find themselves in. The
curves of the coronavirus are flattening, hospitalizations are falling,
medical supply lines are being strengthened . . . And
even potential viral cures are being successfully tested as the stock
market is rebounding. Yet,
even as these positive developments are creating optimism and hope, the
left is warning that hope is dangerous, while escalating their attacks
on President Donald Trump. Did
they not notice he is the man engineering this very turnaround? The
left-wing site The Daily Beast even ran a headline saying "Trump Leads
Pro-Plague States in a COVID Civil War." And
all over the country, all-powerful government officials, backed by
their media minions, seem gleeful as they shut down churches and
religious services. The
last I checked, freedom of religion was a constitutional right, indeed
the basis of all our American rights. But
now, if law-abiding citizens in Greenville, Mississippi, want to have a
religious service in their church parking lot, sitting alone in their
cars, this would be a crime! In
fact, a church in Mississippi faced such a threat, until President
Trump's Department of Justice stepped in and said the city had gone way
too far. The
DOJ warned the city's mayor: "The City appears to have thereby singled
churches out as the only essential service . . . that may not operate
despite following . . . recommendations regarding social distancing." The
Greenville mayor lifted the ban, reluctantly. In
Kansas, public health orders, while allowing people to go to bars and
dine in public restaurants, denied any church from allowing 10 or more
people from gathering — even if they were engaged in social distancing. In
Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued draconian lockdown orders. Under
Gov. Whitmer's orders, abortion clinics are open, but her state police
can stop non-violent protesters. Frankly,
what we are seeing is very dangerous. Using
the virus as an excuse, authorities all over the United States have
sought to curtail, and in some cases, stop religious freedom. If
you're a Christian or Jew or a faithful follower of God, you must read
Dark Agenda. You must be worried. Folks,
this religious intolerance we see today has been fueled by the left for
over 60 years. A
deep-seated animosity inciting vicious hate crimes, and gaining
momentum fast. Just look at this . . . The
day after New Year's, this headline appeared on NBC: Anti-Semitism
Grows in Jewish Communities in NYC Suburbs Remember
the Guardian Angels in New York? They've
been placed on high alert, patrolling Jewish neighborhoods. Anti-Semitism
is growing along with a hatred for Christians. And it's terrifying. This
is all part of the plan set in motion decades ago to banish God from
public life. Please,
I explain it all in Dark Agenda. [Remember, it's FREE, with this
Special Offer.] In
Dark Agenda, you'll discover the plan that was set in place decades ago
. . . and the series of events that have unfolded, allowing the plan to
take hold. I
name names — Obama, Hillary, and the big media pushing this secular
agenda. You'll
discover who was responsible . . . how the Supreme Court failed
Christian America . . . why school administrators are brainwashing our
kids . . . and the names of those carrying out the plan in Washington
today. When
you're done reading Dark Agenda, you'll understand the deep divide in
America. You
will understand why President Trump is at the very epicenter of this
battle between the forces of good and evil right here in America. We
must fight back, or our children and generations to come will live in
fear of expressing their faith.
Yours for Our Country and Its Faith-Based Freedoms, David
Horowitz
