Still waiting for the mass apologies that are due for inflicting the COVID idiocy on all of us. Not holding my breath, naturally.
In the early days of the pandemic, there was debate over whether lockdowns were worth the economic costs. Now, with months of data, we know the verdict: Lockdowns did very little to save lives, were not worth their economic costs, and their collateral damage could lead to far more deaths worldwide due to social turmoil and disruptions in medical care and food supplies.
The COVID-19 lockdowns may be one of the biggest medical and economic blunders of all time, and those who supported them may have a hard time reconciling their past views with new data. However, it’s not too late to have an open mind.
It’s understandable that so many people were early supporters of lockdowns when fear and panic drowned out data and reason. We should not, however, be so forgiving of experts who led us astray, nor to leaders who were so quick to destroy people’s livelihoods without strong evidence, without due process, and without full consideration for the unintended medical, societal, and economic consequences of their decisions; all this for a virus which the CDC now estimates has a survival rate above 99.9% for people under 65.
As the world awakens to how fear and panic drove unnecessary lockdowns, we will also witness political fallout as leaders are exposed for how they turned medical decisions into political ones. For example, U.K. political leaders and their scientific advisers are now pointing fingers at each other over who was behind the quarantine policy.
The Danish Health Authority is also trying to exonerate itself from Denmark’s March 13 lockdown order after a leaked March 15 email stated: “The Danish Health Authority continues to consider that COVID-19 cannot be described as a generally dangerous disease, as it does not have either an usually serious course or a high mortality rate.”
Lots, lots more here, all of it adding up to one thing:
It is early and we don’t yet know exactly how this will play out, but the false narrative of lockdowns and the efficacy of their underlying models is disintegrating by the day.
The Clampdown isn’t about any silly-assed virus, and as time goes on I begin to doubt that it ever was at all. It was about an opportunity for the authoritarians to flex their muscles, to see what they could get away. Sadly, that turned out to be one hell of a lot, as millions of purported “Americans” proved all too eager to take counsel of their cowardice and throw away what precious little liberty they still enjoyed.
But the signs were all there almost from the very beginning, and they still abound, as those same authoritarians who piously proclaimed all along that they were only “following the science” double down on fascism yet again, despite the actual science now serving to expose them for what they really were all along. To wit:
Mecklenburg leaders pushed for a mask mandate Tuesday as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to escalate in the county, and asked county health officials to return with an official recommendation by next week.
County commissioners say cloth face coverings are crucial in preventing COVID-19 outbreaks — and could be the deciding factor in avoiding another stay-at-home order.
The Raleigh City Council made a similar step Tuesday toward possibly implementing a mask mandate. In Durham and Orange counties, residents already are required to wear face coverings in public settings where social distancing may be difficult.
Looking like three hots and a cot, bread and water, and steady work making license plates and/or picking up roadside trash are in my near future, I’m afraid. Because I ain’t putting on no face diaper, and I do not give a skinny shit what some whey-faced, lying commie—be he in Charlotte, Raleigh, or Washington—may require of me.
Arbitrary update! Bullshit, plain and simple.
When he announced on May 1 that masks would be worn in public places, Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker was emphatic.
“We view this as common sense. This is going to be basically a way of life. No ifs, no ands, no buts, no doubts.”
Yeah, go fuck yourself, little Stalin.
First, Baker’s order said to wear face coverings when in public places and unable to keep a social distance of six feet. Why’d he pick six feet? There is no research showing that six feet means anything in a public space.
That six-foot idea is an arbitrary guess that was “conjured up out of nowhere,” according to Professor Robert Dingwall, a top scientific adviser to the British government, which like the U.S. has adopted six feet as a safe social distance. The authorities guessed that it might be a good distance because some study had shown that a cough could travel six feet in a tightly closed dead-air space. The relevance of that to everyday life — who knows?
Anyone claiming the six-foot rule is not arbitrary should explain why the World Health Organization suggests a three-foot distance and why Austria, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have adopted that rule, and why Germany and other countries use a 4.5-foot rule. Does the coronavirus behave differently in Europe?
Second, the order never defined public places. Did it mean indoors or outdoors? No one knew, and Baker probably didn’t know himself. It seemed as if he was talking about indoor spaces with other people nearby. However, upon hearing Baker’s poorly defined order, anxious people extended it and ran with it. Suddenly, we saw multitudes wearing masks and bandannas everywhere, even when it didn’t make sense because no one was around. They jogged and rode bikes with them on, walked in the parks with them, wore them in their cars. When crossing a street alone, carrying groceries home, or even climbing mountains, they burdened themselves with all kinds of masks.
The disease isn’t contagious in the open air, but the mask-wearing anxiety sure is.
Not at my house, it ain’t.
Not knowing about this disease, people anxiously want to do something. Eight weeks ago, it was buying mountains of toilet paper, and today it’s needless masks. There’s social pressure — the unanimity is worrisome. And Governor Charlie Baker is looking at you. And there are busybodies who will be masked when they light into you. Yikes.
Oh, how I hope one of them tries. They’re gonna get one hell of a lot more than they bargained for.
Mask-wearing is not benign, either. (1) Masked faces feel hostile because you can see no relaxation or smile in the person you’re facing. (2) People feel disconnected, and a national survey shows that depression and suicidal thoughts are way up. (3) Public misbehavior is amplified when actors are anonymous — riots, anyone?
People make mistakes, but rigidly sticking with a mistake is inexcusable.
It is that, at minimum. High time Real Americans stopped excusing them, then, and started confronting and defying them instead, openly and aggressively. There’s way more at stake now than any health concerns, real or imaginary, can account for.
“Not holding my breath, naturally.”
Good thing. Those taken in by the lies are not admitting they were wrong as best I can tell, and the ones that pushed the lies, well, they never cared about your health anyway. They only cared to be able to exercise control over you. Power is their only motivation.
If there is one single characteristic that defines our current “elites,” it is their complete inability to ever, EVER admit that they were wrong. About anything at all, no matter how trivial, no matter how far in the past. It is unthinkable that they might be less than perfect and omniscient.
My personal theory is that this is related to their deep hatred of Christianity and Judaism. They hate the idea of being answerable to the Creator, so they reject Him and have built a new belief system with themselves as the center of existence. That makes them gods, and gods are supposed to be infallible.
See also: Global Warming. That little comparison chart I made a couple months ago could use a couple more rows, but it’s standing up pretty well as is.
Yep, that chart was excellent and will stand the test of time.
[…] Today I read this over at ColdFURY. […]
Going about my business I look at these faces hidden behind these masks and 90% of the people look miserable. Ever heard of smiling eyes? Well, there are also crying eyes. Furrowed brows.
The biggest tell of all? How many people have you observed leaving a store, pulling down the mask once they are out in the “clear” and sighing in relief? Some sighs are the relief that they ran the gauntlet and now the Fear is over and for others it is the relief that the discomfort from wearing the mask is finally over.
Be a Rebel, Drop the Mask!
Were I visiting a nursing home I would wear a mask. Many, but not all, manufacturing plants are requiring contractors and employee’s to wear them.
Otherwise, no.
I only wore one for the barber, today for the annual check and booster shot for my son at the doctors. If I were to visit a Nursing Home I would wear one.
Otherwise, that’s it.
I left out the docs. When I went a few weeks ago they meet you at the door with a mask. She told me that even though I hadn’t been in for 5 years she still recognized me mask and all.
Add another place to the list, the bloodmobile. I gave blood today down at the local Boy Scout office building. Had to wear a mask for that, but not a long time.
And damn, the fricking post office. Verizon, the corrupt pikers, owe us money and give us a credit. We don’t have an account anymore to use the credit. The bastards and bitches hang up when you call them, so I need a return receipt request which required going into the damn place. They actually ushered out a black guy claiming to be a veteran with asthma and claiming the ADA allowed him in without a mask.
Government. And now the f’d up Governor Cooper (D, spit) of NC has mandated masks statewide. Because, I said so. We don’t have a problem in NC and never have really, unless you are a nursing home resident or over age 65 with medical conditions.
I believe that to be a true statement. ADA requires businesses to make “reasonable accommodations” for disabilities and HIPAA and some other law which I forget forbids them from asking for details. IIRC the laws apply to government offices as well unless each is specifically exempted. I’ve never had cause to look into whether the USPO is exempt.
I think you’re right, just not certain, so I wrote it as it was.
I had to make a decision, Verizon or the government. I would have liked to have taken off my mask and walked out with him, but for today Verizon was bigger on my shit list than the government post office 🙂
Yes, Cooper has been a real Asshoe.
The Mask is to make you Love Big Brother, or else.
“The Mask is…”
It’s not having the desired outcome for at least a few of us 🙂