Meet the former New York Times reporter who is challenging the coronavirus narrative.(1) Alex Berenson seems to be a skeptic, not of coronavirus, but of the news media and government response to and public discourse of it. He has some good points, and he pretty much agrees with me. Or, I with him. “The response we have taken has caused enormous societal devastation…”, he said in this interview.
As of 2 days ago, world wide, there have been 1,622,167/97,200 with a mortality rate of about 6%. In the US, there have been 466,396/16,703 with a mortality of about 4%. In New York City, there have been 159,937/7,67 with a mortality of about 4.4%. So, all of the US except NYC makes up enough cases to push the mortality rate from 4% to 4.4%. Texas, Missouri and Kansas have mortality rates 2% or less.
Berensen agrees, more or less and for different reasons, that NYC is the epidemic, not the entire nation.
Berenson points out the impotency of these lock downs that have been implemented, whether before or after the arrival of the virus, or not at all.
Let’s take a novel approach. Let’s say that an automobile accident is a virus and death results from some of them, just like coronavirus. In 2010, an estimated 5,419,000 accidents occurred resulting in 32,999 deaths and 2.239,000 injuries. That is a mortality rate of about 1% and a morbidity of 41%. (2) Anybody notice talk of quarantine/house arrest/stay-at-home orders over this?
And consider the leading causes of death in the US in 2017 with the number of deaths attributed to each.(3)
- Heart disease: 647,457
- Cancer: 599,108
- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 169,936
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 160,201
- Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 146,383
- Alzheimer’s disease: 121,404
- Diabetes: 83,564
- Influenza and Pneumonia: 55,672
- Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis: 50,633
- Intentional self-harm (suicide): 47,173
And, we are being stripped of our civil rights over 16,700 deaths, for our own good and the good of the whole.
This past week in California, about 400 people ignored a stay-at-home order to attend a party. Gunfire broke out and 6 were injured. No deaths (at the time of the post). California had, at that time, 22,416/634 coronavirus cases/deaths for an overall mortality of 2.8%. The California party had 400/6 attendees/injured for a morbidity rate of 2%. Elsewhere in the news, there are numerous reports that crime is down significantly because of the coronavirus epidemic/pandemic. I have a couple of questions. Were the party attendees safer attending the party than staying at home waiting for their government to do something, else, about the epidemic? Has coronavirus achieved something in a few weeks that all of government has failed to do for many, many years? Which is safer, random gun violence or government oversight?
The state of Kansas’ Governor won the right to overturn the US constitution of the United States in State Supreme Court last Saturday. She made an executive order limiting religious gatherings to 10 or fewer people.(4) Gov. Laura Kelly won this one because even if it is overturned in the US Supreme Court, there will be years of enforcement until it can be heard. This in a state with 1376 cases and 62 deaths where the majority of religious services have self-quarantined.
A chilling video reveals how a virus spreads from a single cough in a supermarket-like environment.(5) Social distancing is inadequate. Six feet in some (most?) situations is inadequate distance to prevent the transmission and the aerosollized droplets remain viable longer than thought, according to this demonstration. If anyone has been to a big-box store or a supermarket, you may have noticed the plexiglass barriers put up to protect the staff from us vermin. Impotent attempts to fool the masses that something is being done to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. My local US post office has a 2×2 foot square plexiglass barrier with a surrounding 100 square foot open area.
The powers that require these measures are of the same ilk that told us in February, that we didn’t need to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus. Now proved wrong. The same powers are now telling (some of) us that we have to wear these masks to gain entry to grocery stores to purchase life sustaining supplies.
What about gloves? Do they help? No. Viable aerosol droplets containing coronavirus on fomites (non-living surfaces) can as easily be transmitted to ourselves with naked hands as with gloved hands. Hand washing is the key here. This was told to us in February, so they got it half right. Of course, one could wash gloved hands as well as naked hands and achieve the same results. Wearing gloves is cool, after all.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but I point out that a great philosopher, George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Castro and others attained the power to commit the greatest atrocities known to man by nipping at the heels of civil liberties until they were gone.
From your grumpy Uncle Dave, under marshal law/house arrest/stay-at-home orders.
- https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-nyt-reporter-challenging-the-coronavirus-narrative, Adam Shaw, Thursday April 9, 2020.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year, Wikipedia, April 8, 2020.
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm
- https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kansas-governor-wins-court-battle-over-order-limiting-church-gatherings-to-10-people
- https://www.foxnews.com/science/video-reveals-how-coronavirus-spreads-from-a-single-cough-in-a-supermarket, James Rogers, April 9, 2020.