The Covid-19 crisis has been a game changer for the Left. Between the media, the cable watchers, and the Democrat elected we have a crisis that has given them a green light to push their agenda on us. Keep in mind, as of the press deadline for this submission, we have had 30,000 nationwide die of Covid-19. I suspect in some jurisdictions they are willy-nilly adding to the number with the lack of testing available. Keep in mind; suicide, the flu, alcoholism, and drug overdoses kill more than double that number in any given year. As a direct result we may be flattening the curve however we are flattening the economy as well.
William had a great line at the end of his last blog, take another look. “Folks, I hardly watch any television but seeing the behavior of those that do is always a treat. The insanity I witness (and overhear) at work and in the grocery store check-out line is breathtakingly uninformed.” I could not agree with this statement more. I will expand on this thought as well.
Keep this in mind, it wasn’t Trump, Senators, Governors, or House members who shut the individual states down. In the case of California, we had local (Sacramento) county director of Health Services Peter Beilenson order the shutdown of the county. Beilenson if you look at his record, is an unelected bureaucrat who is void of much actual medical work. Think doctor’s office, hospital, etc. Why was he allowed to shut a county down? And why at the same news conference was he asked zero questions by our elected DA, Sheriff or Board of Supervisors? It was a sight to behold. Hours later Governor Newsom after many other counties announced shutdowns decided to shut the state down. Believe it or not this actually made sense because it’s pointless to shut down one county, yet the neighboring ones remain open. I still didn’t agree with it from a constitutional viewpoint, but alas here we are today. New York and California led, and pretty much every additional state followed and fell in line. What happened next was draconian and far more damaging than this virus will ever be.
When a governor orders a shutdown, as the chief law enforcement officer, he has unchecked authority. Gyms, schools, business, and anything else declared un-essential was shut instantly. Don’t believe me, go for a walk and look yourself, you cannot get your hair cut now. Worse yet, different groups and business were deemed essential and had to continue operations as usual, despite the affect this virus could have on your health. Full disclosure, my work is “essential” and I am being paid my regular salary and am working from the office. Restaurants are to go only and have laid off countless staff. Local Park districts have removed the basketball hoops at the local park, even though our property tax dollars are supposed to keep the park in ship shape. Many small businesses will never re-open, many laid off will never find full employment in their respective fields for a long time.
We had to pass funding assistance in the form of a stimulus, and we did so with so much haste it will prove ineffective. We didn’t help current out of work folks, we helped those based on last year’s tax returns, without regard to who is and isn’t still being paid to work or stay home. This however was just one step. In recent days Democrats have proposed a $2,000 per month payment to everyone in the US until the unemployment rate reaches pre-recession levels. The Democrat governors of Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and other states have extended shutdowns without regard to actual medical advice. The small business loan stimulus program is out of money, and in recent days banks have shut off the new mortgage/refinance spigots fearing a full-blown catastrophe is coming. Governor Newsom is now going to give illegal immigrant folks $500 a week, for I’m not sure how long, keep in mind that regular folks are not eligible for this program.
Let’s talk about individual governors and policy makers for a little bit. Governor Whitmer in Michigan has made headlines by thumbing her nose and angering her own citizens with shelter in place laws. Specifically picking which activities folks could and could not do, some examples include you could buy weed, lottery tickets, and booze but you cannot partake in buying lumber, fishing, or seeds. I would venture to say there is a direct correlation between being allowed to purchase the goods, and the amount of sales tax levied on said goods. A revolt ensued and all she could do was double down, acting like a tyrant, which is ironic as the left has been calling Trump a tyrant since day 1.
How about releasing “non-violent” criminals from our jails? I thought here in California we already had done this? Now I guess they have set bail at $0 for certain offenses because they don’t want folks who break the law to be exposed to Covid-19 in jail. A criminal in Stockton has already been re-arrested twice after being bonded out on $0 bail, and a criminal in Florida was released on zero bail and murdered someone. At Least this crisis has not gone to waste.
As far as policy makers go, noticeably absent during this pandemic are the so called “libertarian and conservative types” think Rand Paul, Matt Gaetz, and Ben Sasse. Why haven’t they been front and center asking why a governor or president thinks they have the authority to shut an entire state/country down? How come someone who claims to be a patriot, or a leader of common folks won’t take these leftists to court? Maybe someone on cable already addressed this, but I cannot understand why these folks are cowering in their basements doing interviews via skype while our rights are being trampled.
Bottom line is the Democrats are showing their hand early, making sure the world knows how they intend on governing if they win the White House and control Congress. Picking winners and losers and declaring full on lock downs will be the new normal. The condescending pressers, and remarks are the tip of the iceberg. Also notice how un-elected folks are now making major economic decisions? Why is it we elect folks to govern yet when they turn to a “specialist” we hang on there every word? Look at this Dr. Beilenson, Dr. Fauci, and others. Take a look at this “University Of Washington virus death model” notice how we went from 2 million deaths in the USA, to 500k, then 200k, now we don’t even hear the projections anymore as these modelers made the local weatherman look accurate.
In closing I will add this, harkening back to William’s earlier quote, take a step back and actively listen while you are in a grocery store or at a restaurant for takeout or market. Look at how some folks are spewing information that is absolutely off-base, yet it is taken as gospel since it was said on the news by someone with MD after their name or a salutation of DR before it. Be forewarned.
Chief