wnd--2020-05-19--How Biden could be handing Trump his reelection

In national polling , former Vice President Joe Biden is the clear 2020 front-runner .
He 's up nearly 5 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average ; he 's up in Wisconsin , Pennsylvania , Florida and Arizona .
That 's because Biden campaigned as the anti-Bernie Sanders : a `` return to normalcy '' candidate rather than a transformational one .
His entire pitch relied on his high name recognition , the general perception of his likability and his unthreatening demeanor .
The coronavirus pandemic merely underscored this pitch .
Biden has n't waned in the national polling since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ utterly consistent .
That 's true even though Biden has been relegated to his basement , gaffing through completely anodyne statements about COVID-19 , glitching his way to a few thousand viewers at a time , being interrupted by the birds honking outside his window .
How can a major party candidate win if nobody cares whether he 's even alive ?
Because Biden 's candidacy is n't a referendum on Biden but on Trump : President Donald Trump is widely perceived as volatile , unstable , chaotic .
Biden is perceived as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters seem to think , than the rolling chaos of a second Trump term .
Yet somehow , the Biden campaign has decided to abandon Biden 's greatest advantage : his promise of a sedated interregnum .
Instead , according to The New York Times , Biden 's campaign will embrace radical proposals .
`` With Mr. Biden leading President Trump in the polls , the former vice president and other Democratic leaders are racing to assemble a new governing agenda that meets the extraordinary times – and they agree it must be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has embraced before , '' The Times reported .
Some of the new proposals are directly from the Sanders campaign : forgiving student loans , a Green New Deal , expansion of government health care , a government jobs plan , a ban on stock buybacks and compulsion toward profit sharing for corporations .
Meanwhile , former President Barack Obama explained over the weekend that the coronavirus has merely underscored deep-seated American racism that requires a complete remaking of our society .
Equating disparate health and incomes between black Americans and white Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black Georgian Ahmaud Arbery – and citing both as legacies of America 's historic racism – Obama stated , `` No generation has been better positioned to be warriors for justice and remake the world . ''
But do Americans really want the world remade ?
Or are they simply longing for the world of four months ago , when unemployment stood at 3.5 % , when incomes were rising at the lowest end of the income scale , when Americans could attend events without fear of infection and death ?
Are Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical system , a universal basic income and trillions more in debt ?
Biden seems to be betting on the latter .
And that 's idiocy of the highest order .
It completely undermines his entire case for the nomination ; it allows Trump to place the new radical agenda front and center , rather than his own foibles .
Biden 's go-for-broke strategy is a massive opportunity for Trump – if Trump does n't blow it .

In national polling, former Vice President Joe Biden is the clear 2020 front-runner. He's up nearly 5 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average; he's up in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona. That's because Biden campaigned as the anti-Bernie Sanders: a "return to normalcy" candidate rather than a transformational one. His entire pitch relied on his high name recognition, the general perception of his likability and his unthreatening demeanor.
The coronavirus pandemic merely underscored this pitch. Biden hasn't waned in the national polling since the pandemic – his lead has been utterly consistent. That's true even though Biden has been relegated to his basement, gaffing through completely anodyne statements about COVID-19, glitching his way to a few thousand viewers at a time, being interrupted by the birds honking outside his window. How can a major party candidate win if nobody cares whether he's even alive? Because Biden's candidacy isn't a referendum on Biden but on Trump: President Donald Trump is widely perceived as volatile, unstable, chaotic. Biden is perceived as somnambulant. Better a sleepwalker, many voters seem to think, than the rolling chaos of a second Trump term.
Yet somehow, the Biden campaign has decided to abandon Biden's greatest advantage: his promise of a sedated interregnum. Instead, according to The New York Times, Biden's campaign will embrace radical proposals. "With Mr. Biden leading President Trump in the polls, the former vice president and other Democratic leaders are racing to assemble a new governing agenda that meets the extraordinary times – and they agree it must be far bolder than anything the party establishment has embraced before," The Times reported.
Some of the new proposals are directly from the Sanders campaign: forgiving student loans, a Green New Deal, expansion of government health care, a government jobs plan, a ban on stock buybacks and compulsion toward profit sharing for corporations. Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama explained over the weekend that the coronavirus has merely underscored deep-seated American racism that requires a complete remaking of our society. Equating disparate health and incomes between black Americans and white Americans due to COVID-19 with the shooting of black Georgian Ahmaud Arbery – and citing both as legacies of America's historic racism – Obama stated, "No generation has been better positioned to be warriors for justice and remake the world."
But do Americans really want the world remade? Or are they simply longing for the world of four months ago, when unemployment stood at 3.5%, when incomes were rising at the lowest end of the income scale, when Americans could attend events without fear of infection and death? Are Americans truly desperate for a reshaping of our medical system, a universal basic income and trillions more in debt?
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Biden seems to be betting on the latter. And that's idiocy of the highest order. It completely undermines his entire case for the nomination; it allows Trump to place the new radical agenda front and center, rather than his own foibles. Biden's go-for-broke strategy is a massive opportunity for Trump – if Trump doesn't blow it.


wnd--2020-05-21--Written order shows state falsely claiming 'isolation camps' are 'voluntary'

A Washington state lawmaker is alerting citizens to `` isolation camps '' set up in his state and others to house people who become infected with COVID-19 , warning that contrary to the conventional narrative , they are not voluntary .
State Republican Rep. Matt Shea of the Spokane area in eastern Washington , explained in a video interview with The New American magazine that the camps are part of Democratic Gov .
Jay Inslee 's policy of contract tracing , which has been implemented by many states .
He explained that the tracers visit people who may have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a center to protect other members of their household .
While the infected person may be asked to volunteer , the government makes it clear that people can be forcibly quarantined , Shea pointed out .
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue ' judge booted off case He read a line from a form that local health officers are to present to someone who is infected .
It says : `` If you do not comply with this request for voluntary quarantine I may/will sign a detention order , enforced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compliance . ''
Shea said the centers are being set up at county fairgrounds , and he is hearing of it happening in other states .
He noted that another element of the contact tracing in Washington state was Inslee 's order that restaurants log the names and contact information of anyone who sits down to eat .
Fierce opposition to the policy led to the governor withdrawing the measure .
Shea said that media , acknowledging there are isolation camps , have called the claim that they are not voluntary a `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact , has been censoring posts he said , insisting it is voluntary .
But it 's not voluntary , he pointed out , when you have a `` detention order , enforced by police '' to ensure compliance .
The Washingon State Department of Health issued a statement May 15 `` on misinformation circulating about quarantine orders and facilities in Washington state . ''
The state insisted actions regarding isolation and quarantine `` are voluntary and confidential , despite the misinformation being spread by some . ''
But later in the statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health officers '' have the authority to `` involuntary isolate or quarantine an individual . ''
`` Each local health jurisdiction in Washington has plans and processes in place should involuntary isolation or quarantine be needed , '' the statement says .
See the interview with Matt Shea : WND reported earlier this month the health director for California 's Ventura County declared at a news conference that he had mobilized teams who were prepared to remove people infected with the coronavirus from their homes .
Dr. Robert Levin , who was announcing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Community Contact Tracing , was forced to clarify his remarks after many country residents understood him to be saying that people could be forcibly removed from the homes .
The county 's public information officer , Ashley Bautista , told WND she had been dealing with the reponses of confused and angry citizens .
`` So people were feeling like Dr. Levin was saying that the county is going to rip people out of their houses , and that 's just not the case , '' she said .
However , she acknowledged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health officer has the authority to do that . ''
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures , every state , the District of Columbia and most territories have laws authorizing quarantine and isolation , usually through the state ’ s health authority .

A Washington state lawmaker is alerting citizens to "isolation camps" set up in his state and others to house people who become infected with COVID-19, warning that contrary to the conventional narrative, they are not voluntary.
State Republican Rep. Matt Shea of the Spokane area in eastern Washington, explained in a video interview with The New American magazine that the camps are part of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's policy of contract tracing, which has been implemented by many states.
He explained that the tracers visit people who may have been infected and advise them they can isolate at a center to protect other members of their household.
While the infected person may be asked to volunteer, the government makes it clear that people can be forcibly quarantined, Shea pointed out.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
He read a line from a form that local health officers are to present to someone who is infected.
It says: "If you do not comply with this request for voluntary quarantine I may/will sign a detention order, enforced by the police, to ensure your compliance."
Shea said the centers are being set up at county fairgrounds, and he is hearing of it happening in other states.
He noted that another element of the contact tracing in Washington state was Inslee's order that restaurants log the names and contact information of anyone who sits down to eat. Fierce opposition to the policy led to the governor withdrawing the measure.
Do you approve of 'isolation camps' during the coronavirus pandemic? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 1% (9 Votes) 99% (782 Votes)
Shea said that media, acknowledging there are isolation camps, have called the claim that they are not voluntary a "conspiracy theory."
Facebook, in fact, has been censoring posts he said, insisting it is voluntary.
But it's not voluntary, he pointed out, when you have a "detention order, enforced by police" to ensure compliance.
The Washingon State Department of Health issued a statement May 15 "on misinformation circulating about quarantine orders and facilities in Washington state."
The state insisted actions regarding isolation and quarantine "are voluntary and confidential, despite the misinformation being spread by some."
But later in the statement, the health department says "local health officers" have the authority to "involuntary isolate or quarantine an individual."
"Each local health jurisdiction in Washington has plans and processes in place should involuntary isolation or quarantine be needed," the statement says.
See the interview with Matt Shea:
Ventura Highway
WND reported earlier this month the health director for California's Ventura County declared at a news conference that he had mobilized teams who were prepared to remove people infected with the coronavirus from their homes.
Dr. Robert Levin, who was announcing the launch of a pilot program called Community Contact Tracing, was forced to clarify his remarks after many country residents understood him to be saying that people could be forcibly removed from the homes.
The county's public information officer, Ashley Bautista, told WND she had been dealing with the reponses of confused and angry citizens.
"So people were feeling like Dr. Levin was saying that the county is going to rip people out of their houses, and that's just not the case," she said.
However, she acknowledged that "legally speaking, a public health officer has the authority to do that."
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, every state, the District of Columbia and most territories have laws authorizing quarantine and isolation, usually through the state’s health authority.


wnd--2020-05-21--Infectious-disease expert: 'American medicine has gone nuts'

Dr. Stephen M. Smith is the widely respected infectious-disease specialist who briefed President Trump last month at the White House on the promise of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 , calling it a `` game changer . ''
His contribution to the president 's highly controversial enthusiasm for the drug was recounted in a Washington Post story reporting that immediately after Smith gave a detailed presentation at the White House on April 3 , Trump directed the delivery of mass doses to coronavirus hot spots such as New York City and New Orleans .
The Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' of hydroxychloroquine `` illustrates the degree to which the president prioritizes anecdote and feeling over science and fact . ''
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue ' judge booted off case But that is precisely how Smith – a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine and a former research scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who was trained by Dr. Anthony Fauci – sees many of his colleagues reacting to a drug he argues has been shown in studies worldwide and in his own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatment for COVID-19 .
`` I do n't have words to describe how frustrating this is , '' he said in a phone interview Wednesday morning with WND .
`` There 's just a craziness out there , and I do n't know how to correct it , '' Smith said .
`` The truth does n't matter any more . ''
Smith said the disconnect between the data and the statements of scientists who have access to that data is `` unbelievably frustrating . ''
`` American medicine has gone nuts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one thing for the press to go nuts , but doctors have done that .
The Journal of American Medicine has done that . ''
Trump caused an uproar Monday afternoon when he revealed to reporters he had been taking hydroxychloroquine every day for the past couple of weeks as a preventative measure against the coronavirus .
Immediately after the news conference , visibly angry Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto warned viewers that people will die if they follow Trump 's lead , pointing to a University of Virginia study of veterans .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Cavuto 's rebuke but already is on record calling the UVA study – which concluded COVID patients who took hydroxychloroquine were more likely to die – a `` sham . ''
`` I 've never seen an efficacy trial of any drug where they did n't list the dose or the days of therapy , '' he told WND .
`` It 's a complete joke . ''
Smith said the `` consistency of approach to analyzing data is gone , '' and he finds it difficult to engage with colleagues on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Either I 've gone nuts or they have , but we ca n't both be sane , '' said Smith , the director of the Smith Center for Infectious Diseases and Urban Health in East Orange , New Jersey .
`` The only thing I 've heard that is even near an argument is 'just because . '
'' Smith , who he has been taking hydroxychloroquine as a prophylatic since early March , before he began treating COVID patients , said he has no financial gain in hydroxychloroqine .
`` To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the truth , '' he said .
`` The truth in medicine will come out eventually . ''
In early April , a poll of 6,200 physicians in 30 countries found hydroxychloroquine to be the best drug available to treat COVID-19 .
At the same time , Smith declared he had seen remarkable success in his treatment of 72 seriously ill COVID-19 patients with hydroxchloroquine and the common antibiotic azithromycin , or Z-pack .
`` I think this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic , '' he said in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Laura Ingraham .
`` I 'm very serious . ''
But resistance has only intensified to the drug , which has been used to treat malaria since 1955 and is commonly used for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients .
Not the first time Ironically , in this season of enhanced handwashing , there are echoes of that resistance in the story of the pioneer of hand disinfection in medicine , Dr. Ignaz Semmelwies .
In 1847 , not long before the germ theory discoveries of Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister , the Hungarian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mortality in obstetrical clinics to below 1 % .
But his proposal to require doctors at Vienna General Hospital to wash their hands was met with mockery and disdain .
His views conflicted with the established scientific and medical consensus of the time .
`` This is what is going on now , '' Smith told WND .
The FDA , for one , is contradicting itself , he said .
It officially `` cautions against use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' But in the approximately 400 clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine the FDA has approved , not one requires EKG monitoring , Smith points out .
`` People have doubled down on the toxicity of a drug that is not toxic .
They 've gone around and told everybody it 's killing people .
It 's not . ''
The FDA , he said has decades of randomized , double-blind studies on hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of lupus and rheumatoid arthrititis .
`` Every one of them has higher doses than anyone is giving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with some giving more than 1,000 milligrams trials a day .
`` None of them require EKG monitoring .
None of them talk about increased death , '' he said .
`` It 's a canard . ''
The Journal of the American Medical Assocation , JAMA , published an editorial warning that hydroxchloroquine is `` toxic , '' without any citation , he noted .
But the same journal published a peer-reviewed article touting the drug as a safe treatment for pancreatic cancer at 1,200 milligrams per day .
That 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 patients .
`` Which JAMA are we supposed to believe , the editorial that is uncited or the one that publishes on data from a patient population ? ''
Smith asked .
The saga of the 19th century physician-scientist , Semmelweis , did not end well personally , although he was later vindicated by Pasteur .
In 1865 , Semmelweis was committed to an asylum by a colleague after it was believed he had suffered a nervous breakdown .
Just 14 days later , he died in the institution at age 47 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has known Fauci , President Trump 's top coronavirus health adviser , for decades , both as an employee of NIAID and through a family relationship .
Smith 's father , the renowned infectious disease specialist Dr. Leon Smith , was a close colleague of Fauci 's mentor , Dr. Sheldon Wolff .
Wolff joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1960 and eventually became its director .
`` Wolff was a father figure , as was my father , to Fauci , '' said Smith .
The elder Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eulogy at Wolff 's funeral in 1994 .
Smith , emphasizing he has a lot of respect for Fauci , takes issue with the NIAID director 's publicly stated insistence that the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in the treatment of COVID-19 is merely `` anecdotal . ''
Anecdotal means without controls , Smith argued , but there are many studies with controls indicating patients did n't get well merely because they were going to get well anyway , with or without treatment .
In fact , he pointed out , Fauci 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study that provided the basis for a therapy to treat an autoimmune disease called Wegener 's granulomatosis .
Fauci 's study examined only 17 patients and had no controls , observing patients who did not take the drug and relying only on historical controls .
`` By defintion that is anecdotal , '' Smith said , noting that does n't mean it 's incorrect .
`` We use anecdotal data all the time , '' he explained .
Smith also pointed out that there have been no randomized-controlled trials for treatment of syphilis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Control and Prevention puts out the same antibiotic regimens every few years for the disease .
Decisions in medicine often are made without perfect data , he explained , but the data that hydroxychloroquine is effective in the treatment of COVID-19 is overwhelming .
Addressing conflicting studies , he argued it 's much easier to show that a drug does not work when it 's not a randomized trial , particularly because of `` selection bias . ''
Smith noted there 's bias , for example , when doctors decide to give some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Because doctors are human beings , they tend to give the drugs to the sicker patients .
Smith also argued it 's difficult to compare studies because of the wide variance in dosage .
And , with the exception of an oft-cited French study that has shown it to be effective , the studies do not combine hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin , which is the regimen he has been using to great effect .
`` We 're not comparing apples to apples , but apples to oranges and grapefruits , '' he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given nothing and 14 were given 600 miligrams of hydroxychlorquine daily .
The last six , the sickest of the group , received azthromycin plus the 600 miligrams of hydroxychloroqine .
Of the six , all were `` virologically cleared '' of COVID-19 by day five , Smith said .
In the group receiving only hydroxychloroquine , eight of the 14 were cleared of the virus by day five .
Of the 16 who received nothing , only two were cleared .
`` Those were controls , '' he said .
`` Actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because the sicker patients were in the azithromycin group . ''
Significantly , he said , the clearance of the virus within five days is consistent with what he and many other physicians have seen .
A newer French study , one with an arm of 80 and another with 1,000 people receiving the same hydroxychloroquine-azithormycin regimen , found 90 % got better .
Smith said that after the March study from France , he began administering the hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin protocol to his patients .
`` When I saw the virologic results , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best chance , '' he said , explaining that those who clear the virus quicker get better quicker .
But he noted the French study did not specifically address the reported side effect of heart arrthymia , concluding only that the drug was found to be safe .
`` So I measured EKGs in every patient , every day and recruited a physiologist to examine the records , '' Smith said .
`` Much to my surprise , even with high-risk patients and those who were taking a third drug , we did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` I was not expecting that .
I was checking to see who I should stop the drug on . ''
Smith said he will soon publish data showing that people with a baseline normal EKG can take the drug safely .
`` I was stunned by that , '' he said of the result .

Dr. Stephen M. Smith is the widely respected infectious-disease specialist who briefed President Trump last month at the White House on the promise of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, calling it a "game changer."
His contribution to the president's highly controversial enthusiasm for the drug was recounted in a Washington Post story reporting that immediately after Smith gave a detailed presentation at the White House on April 3, Trump ordered the delivery of mass doses to coronavirus hot spots such as New York City and New Orleans.
The Post opined that Trump's "swift embrace" of hydroxychloroquine "illustrates the degree to which the president prioritizes anecdote and feeling over science and fact."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
But that is precisely how Smith – a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine and a former research scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Dr. Anthony Fauci – sees many of his colleagues reacting to a drug he argues has been shown in studies worldwide and in his own practice to be a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19.
"I don't have words to describe how frustrating this is," he said in a phone interview Wednesday morning with WND.
"There's just a craziness out there, and I don't know how to correct it," Smith said. "The truth doesn't matter any more."
Smith said the disconnect between the data and the statements of scientists who have access to that data is "unbelievably frustrating."
Has American medicine gone nuts amid the coronavirus pandemic? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 99% (494 Votes) 1% (6 Votes)
"American medicine has gone nuts," he said. "It's one thing for the press to go nuts, but doctors have done that. The Journal of American Medicine has done that."
'It's a complete joke'
Trump caused an uproar Monday afternoon when he revealed to reporters he had been taking hydroxychloroquine every day for the past couple of weeks as a preventative measure against the coronavirus. Immediately after the news conference, visibly angry Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto warned viewers that people will die if they follow Trump's lead, pointing to a University of Virginia study of veterans.
Smith told WND he wasn't aware of Cavuto's rebuke but already is on record calling the UVA study – which concluded COVID patients who took hydroxychloroquine were more likely to die – a "sham."
"I've never seen an efficacy trial of any drug where they didn't list the dose or the days of therapy," he told WND. "It's a complete joke."
At a White House Cabinet meeting Tuesday open to reporters, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie critized the study, noting the researchers "took VA numbers and they did not clinically review them" and ignored the fact that many of the patients were near death with "various comorbidities." Last week, two physicians in Congress challenged ousted HHS official Dr. Rick Bright during a hearing for his resistance to hydroxychloroquine, citing the many doctors reporting its success with "lives on the line."
Smith said the "consistency of approach to analyzing data is gone," and he finds it difficult to engage with colleagues on the subject of hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19.
"Either I've gone nuts or they have, but we can't both be sane," said Smith, the director of the Smith Center for Infectious Diseases and Urban Health in East Orange, New Jersey.
"The only thing I've heard that is even near an argument is 'just because.'"
Smith, who he has been taking hydroxychloroquine as a prophylatic since early March, before he began treating COVID patients, said he has no financial gain in hydroxychloroqine.
"To me, I just want to know the truth," he said. "The truth in medicine will come out eventually."
In early April, a poll of 6,200 physicians in 30 countries found hydroxychloroquine to be the best drug available to treat COVID-19.
At the same time, Smith declared he had seen remarkable success in his treatment of 72 seriously ill COVID-19 patients with hydroxchloroquine and the common antibiotic azithromycin, or Z-pack.
"I think this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic," he said in an April 1 interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham. "I'm very serious."
"It's a game-changer. An absolute game-changer."
But resistance has only intensified to the drug, which has been used to treat malaria since 1955 and is commonly used for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Not the first time
Ironically, in this season of enhanced handwashing, there are echoes of that resistance in the story of the pioneer of hand disinfection in medicine, Dr. Ignaz Semmelwies.
In 1847, not long before the germ theory discoveries of Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister, the Hungarian physician-scientist cited published reports that handwashing reduced mortality in obstetrical clinics to below 1%. But his proposal to require doctors at Vienna General Hospital to wash their hands was met with mockery and disdain. His views conflicted with the established scientific and medical consensus of the time.
"This is what is going on now," Smith told WND.
The FDA, for one, is contradicting itself, he said. The agency officially "cautions against use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems."
But in the 400 clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine the FDA has approved, not one requires EKG monitoring, Smith points out.
"People have doubled down on the toxicity of a drug that is not toxic. They've gone around and told everybody it's killing people. It's not."
The FDA, he said, has decades of randomized, double-blind studies on hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of lupus and rheumatoid arthrititis.
"Every one of them has higher doses than anyone is giving for COVID therapy," he said, with some giving more than 1,000 milligrams trials a day.
"None of them require EKG monitoring. None of them talk about increased death," he said. "It's a canard."
The Journal of the American Medical Assocation, JAMA, published an editorial warning that hydroxchloroquine is "toxic," without any citation, he noted.
But the same journal published a peer-reviewed study touting the drug as a safe treatment for pancreatic cancer at 1,200 milligrams per day. That's twice the amount Smith gives to his COVID-19 patients.
"Which JAMA are we supposed to believe, the editorial that is uncited or the one that publishes on data from a patient population?" Smith asked.
The saga of the ostracized 19th century physician-scientist, Semmelweis, did not end well personally, although he was later vindicated by Pasteur.
In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum by a colleague after it was believed he had suffered a nervous breakdown. Just 14 days later, he died in the institution at age 47 after being beaten by guards.
Fauci's father figures
Smith has known Fauci, President Trump's top coronavirus health adviser, for decades, both as an employee of NIAID and through a family relationship.
Smith's father, the renowned infectious disease specialist Dr. Leon Smith, was a close colleague of Fauci's mentor, Dr. Sheldon Wolff.
Wolff joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1960 and eventually became its director.
"Wolff was a father figure, as was my father, to Fauci," said Smith.
The elder Smith, along with Fauci, gave the eulogy for Wolff when he died in 1994.
Smith, emphasizing he has a lot of respect for Fauci, takes issue with the NIAID director's publicly stated insistence that the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in the treatment of COVID-19 is merely "anecdotal."
Anecdotal means without controls, Smith argued, but there are many studies with controls indicating COVID-19 patients taking hydroxychloroquine didn't get well merely because they were going to get well anyway, with or without treatment.
In fact, he pointed out, Fauci's "claim to fame" is a study that provided the basis for a therapy to treat an autoimmune disease called Wegener's granulomatosis.
Fauci's study examined only 17 patients and had no controls, observing patients who did not take the drug and relying only on historical controls.
"By defintion that is anecdotal," Smith said, noting that doesn't mean it's incorrect.
"We use anecdotal data all the time," he explained.
Smith also pointed out that there have been no randomized-controlled trials for treatment of syphilis.
Nevertheless, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts out the same antibiotic regimens every few years for the disease.
Decisions in medicine often are made without perfect data, he explained, but the data that hydroxychloroquine is effective in the treatment of COVID-19 is overwhelming.
Addressing conflicting studies, he argued it's much easier to show that a drug does not work when it's not a randomized trial, particularly because of "selection bias."
Smith noted there's bias, for example, when doctors decide to give some patients the drugs as opposed to others.
Because doctors are human beings, they tend to give the drugs to the sicker patients.
Apples to oranges
Smith also argued it's difficult to compare hydroxchloroquine-COVID-19 studies because of the wide variance in dosage.
And, with the exception of an oft-cited French study that has shown it to be effective, the studies do not combine hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin, which is the regimen he has been using to great effect.
"We're not comparing apples to apples, but apples to oranges and grapefruits," he said.
The French study, published March 20, tested a total of 36 people with COVID-19.
Over 10 days, 16 were given nothing and 14 were given 600 milligrams of hydroxychlorquine daily. The last six, the sickest of the group, received azthromycin plus the 600 miligrams of hydroxychloroqine.
Of the six, all were "virologically cleared" of COVID-19 by day five, Smith said.
In the group receiving only hydroxychloroquine, eight of the 14 were cleared of the virus by day five. Of the 16 who received nothing, only two were cleared.
"Those were controls," he said. "Actually, the bias was against those results, because the sicker patients were in the azithromycin group."
Significantly, he said, the clearance of the virus within five days is consistent with what he and many other physicians have seen.
A newer French study, one with an arm of 80 and another with 1,000 people receiving the same hydroxychloroquine-azithormycin regimen, found 90% got better.
Smith said that after the March study from France, he began administering the hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin protocol to his patients.
"When I saw the virologic results, I wanted to give my patients the best chance," he said, explaining that those who clear the virus quicker get better quicker.
But he noted the French study did not specifically address the reported side effect of heart arrthymia, concluding only that the drug was found to be safe.
"So I measured EKGs in every patient, every day and recruited a physiologist to examine the records," Smith said.
"Much to my surprise, even with high-risk patients and those who were taking a third drug, we didn't see it," he said.
"I was not expecting that. I was checking to see who I should stop the drug on."
Smith said he will soon publish data showing that people with a baseline normal EKG can take the drug safely.
"I was stunned by that," he said of the result.


wnd--2020-05-20--Flavor ban was no deterrent for e-Cig use

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy . ]
Anti-vaping advocates have claimed that nicotine addiction among teens has been driven by the seductive flavorings offered by e-cigarette companies .
Public campaigns were launched nationwide agitating for flavor bans and after the U.S. was hit with an onslaught of high profile e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury ( EVALI ) and deaths , the states along with federal government pounced on the opportunity to regulate the nascent industry .
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue ' judge booted off case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) Dr. Scott Gottlieb proclaimed teenage use of e-cigarettes to be an “ epidemic.
” Anti-vape advocates were empowered and well-funded to lobby states and the federal government with their claims about the dangerously delicious flavored nicotine pods addicting middle and high school students around the country .
“ Studies ” were conducted : `` Regulations that reduce youth exposure to flavored e-cigarettes may aid in preventing young people who try e-cigarettes from becoming long-term e-cig users , and also from inhaling more of aerosol into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the USC Institute for Addiction Science and professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC said .
`` Regulations like these could also encourage the millions of U.S. adolescents who already use e-cigarettes to quit vaping , especially if they can no longer access e-cigs in the flavors they like . ''
Now that the federal government has banned flavored pod-based e-cigarette products , how has the ban effected the sales of popular e-cig manufacturers like Juul ?
Have millions of adolescents quit vaping because they no longer can access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A new study in the American Journal of Public Health reveals that after Juul stopped selling flavored pods for their vaping devices , the company saw a decline in sales but “ recovered within weeks and surpassed their previous maximum in those same channels , as consumption shifted to the menthol/mint and tobacco flavors that remained on shelves.
” In November 2018 , Juul announced it would stop accepting retail orders for its highly popular flavored nicotine pods , so sales of the popular Juul flavors were already tapering out .
`` We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Creme , and Cucumber as effective tools to help adult smokers switch from combustible cigarettes , and we do not sell flavors like Gummy Bear or Cotton Candy , which are clearly targeted to kids , '' Juul Labs CEO Kevin Burns said in a press statement at the time .
`` However , we are sensitive to the concerns articulated by [ FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb , MD ] that 'flavors play an important role in driving the youth appeal , ' and understand that products that appeal to adults also may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been repeatedly singled out as the most popular pod system among teens so we should expect to see Juul ’ s sales revenue decrease once the teens using their product no longer had access to flavors .
But do “ flavors drive youth appeal ?
” The American Journal of Public Health study suggest they do not : Juul has not seen a drop in sales .
Instead it looks like Juul ’ s flavor users have just switched over to their “ acceptable ” and legal products .
According to Forbes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop selling some of its sweeter-flavors of e-cigarettes from stores in the U.S. in November 2018 , there was a decline in sales of these products by approximately 2/3 , but sales of menthol/mint flavored products doubled , with the tobacco-flavored product also experiencing a significant spike in popularity .
How to explain the stability of Juul sales if the hypothesis that teens began vaping because of the attractively favored pods was correct ?
If flavors were the hook for teenagers , Juul sales would see a drop following the ban as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their flavors .
“ Companies ’ attempts to self-impose their own restrictions are unlikely to improve public health , ” said Alex Liber , MSPH , senior scientist , with the Economic & Health Policy Research program at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study .
“ Juul ’ s withdrawal of fruit-flavored products was quickly offset by a combination of increased fruit-flavored sales by Juul ’ s competitors and increased sales of other flavors — notably , mint/menthol — by Juul , ” Liber added .
But this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Juul ’ s flavored pods that were pulled off the market , it was all flavored pods .
A dedicated and addicted flavor pod vaper could not simply move to Juul ’ s competitors because the competitors were under the same restrictions .
The only other way to explain Juul ’ s stable sales in the face of the flavor ban is to claim that legal adult use has increased such that it replaces the revenue of lost teen consumers , but that seems unlikely .
Based on this new study it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems has not curtailed e-cig use among teens or adults for that matter .
The big dollar campaigns against flavored e-cigs , however , has complicated the situation for adults looking for a means of harm reduction and want a flavored vape to kick their deadly combustible tobacco habit .
Elizabeth Sheld is the senior news editor at American Greatness and author of the “ Morning Greatness ” news update .
She is a veteran political strategist and pollster who has worked on campaigns and public interest affairs .
Liz has written at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as at PJ Media , where she wrote `` The Morning Briefing . ''
In her spare time , she shoots sporting clays and watches documentaries .
Elizabeth quit smoking with Cuttwood Vapor ’ s Unicorn Milk .
[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy.]
By Elizabeth Sheld
Real Clear Policy
Anti-vaping advocates have claimed that nicotine addiction among teens has been driven by the seductive flavorings offered by e-cigarette companies. Public campaigns were launched nationwide agitating for flavor bans and after the U.S. was hit with an onslaught of high profile e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) and deaths, the states along with federal government pounced on the opportunity to regulate the nascent industry.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The panic began when former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Scott Gottlieb proclaimed teenage use of e-cigarettes to be an “epidemic.” Anti-vape advocates were empowered and well-funded to lobby states and the federal government with their claims about the dangerously delicious flavored nicotine pods addicting middle and high school students around the country.
“Studies” were conducted: "Regulations that reduce youth exposure to flavored e-cigarettes may aid in preventing young people who try e-cigarettes from becoming long-term e-cig users, and also from inhaling more of aerosol into their lungs," Adam Leventhal, director of the USC Institute for Addiction Science and professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC said. "Regulations like these could also encourage the millions of U.S. adolescents who already use e-cigarettes to quit vaping, especially if they can no longer access e-cigs in the flavors they like."
Now that the federal government has banned flavored pod-based e-cigarette products, how has the ban effected the sales of popular e-cig manufacturers like Juul? Have millions of adolescents quit vaping because they no longer can access e-cigs in the flavors they like?
A new study in the American Journal of Public Health reveals that after Juul stopped selling flavored pods for their vaping devices, the company saw a decline in sales but “recovered within weeks and surpassed their previous maximum in those same channels, as consumption shifted to the menthol/mint and tobacco flavors that remained on shelves.”
In November 2018, Juul announced it would stop accepting retail orders for its highly popular flavored nicotine pods, so sales of the popular Juul flavors were already tapering out.
"We launched flavors like Mango, Fruit, Creme, and Cucumber as effective tools to help adult smokers switch from combustible cigarettes, and we do not sell flavors like Gummy Bear or Cotton Candy, which are clearly targeted to kids," Juul Labs CEO Kevin Burns said in a press statement at the time. "However, we are sensitive to the concerns articulated by [FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD] that 'flavors play an important role in driving the youth appeal,' and understand that products that appeal to adults also may appeal to youth."
Juul has been repeatedly singled out as the most popular pod system among teens so we should expect to see Juul’s sales revenue decrease once the teens using their product no longer had access to flavors. But do “flavors drive youth appeal?” The American Journal of Public Health study suggest they do not: Juul has not seen a drop in sales. Instead it looks like Juul’s flavor users have just switched over to their “acceptable” and legal products.
According to Forbes, after Juul made the voluntary decision to stop selling some of its sweeter-flavors of e-cigarettes from stores in the U.S. in November 2018, there was a decline in sales of these products by approximately 2/3, but sales of menthol/mint flavored products doubled, with the tobacco-flavored product also experiencing a significant spike in popularity.
How to explain the stability of Juul sales if the hypothesis that teens began vaping because of the attractively favored pods was correct? If flavors were the hook for teenagers, Juul sales would see a drop following the ban as the teens were no longer able to access their flavors.
“Companies’ attempts to self-impose their own restrictions are unlikely to improve public health,” said Alex Liber, MSPH, senior scientist, with the Economic & Health Policy Research program at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. “Juul’s withdrawal of fruit-flavored products was quickly offset by a combination of increased fruit-flavored sales by Juul’s competitors and increased sales of other flavors — notably, mint/menthol — by Juul,” Liber added.
But this is not true because it was not only Juul’s flavored pods that were pulled off the market, it was all flavored pods. A dedicated and addicted flavor pod vaper could not simply move to Juul’s competitors because the competitors were under the same restrictions. The only other way to explain Juul’s stable sales in the face of the flavor ban is to claim that legal adult use has increased such that it replaces the revenue of lost teen consumers, but that seems unlikely.
Based on this new study it would seem the ban on flavored pod-based e-cig systems has not curtailed e-cig use among teens or adults for that matter. The big dollar campaigns against flavored e-cigs, however, has complicated the situation for adults looking for a means of harm reduction and want a flavored vape to kick their deadly combustible tobacco habit.
Elizabeth Sheld is the senior news editor at American Greatness and author of the “Morning Greatness” news update. She is a veteran political strategist and pollster who has worked on campaigns and public interest affairs. Liz has written at Breitbart and The Federalist, as well as at PJ Media, where she wrote "The Morning Briefing." In her spare time, she shoots sporting clays and watches documentaries. Elizabeth quit smoking with Cuttwood Vapor’s Unicorn Milk.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy.]


wnd--2020-05-20--The day Obama triggered Obamagate

The day Obama triggered Obamagate

When the final chapter is written on Obamagate , historians will look to the April 10 , 2016 , as the day President Barack Obama triggered the eponymous coup .
Leading from behind as was his wont , Obama was never so far behind that he could not see what was to come .
From time to time he showed his hand , starting with an April 10 , 2016 , appearance on a Fox News Sunday morning show with Chris Wallace .
Speaking of the investigation into Hillary Clinton 's non-secured emails , Obama said what now reads like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department , or the FBI , not just in this case , but in any case . ''
Promptly subverting that guarantee , Obama denied Clinton had risked national security and dictated the case 's outcome : `` She has acknowledged − that there 's a carelessness , in terms of managing emails , that she has owned , and she recognizes . ''
Obama had reason to protect Hillary .
An indictment increased the odds the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If FBI Director James Comey and his colleagues were uncertain of Obama 's will before that appearance , they no longer were .
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue ' judge booted off case The task fell to the now notorious Peter Strzok , the FBI 's lead investigator on the Clinton email case – codename `` Midyear Exam '' – to align the FBI 's messaging with that of the White House .
It was Strzok who changed the language in an earlier draft by Comey from `` gross @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Espionage Act – to `` extremely careless , '' the wording Obama introduced in April .
On July 5 , 2016 , in what even he himself called an `` unusual statement , '' Comey turned the Obama suggestion into public action .
After clearing Secretary Clinton and `` her colleagues '' of any nefarious intent , Comey said that `` they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive , highly classified information . ''
Comey also insisted , `` I have not coordinated or reviewed this statement in any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any other part of the government . ''
In her testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ( HPSCI ) , Strzok 's FBI lover , Lisa Page , would suggest otherwise , but that news would come later and quieter .
On July 5 , 2016 , the very same day Comey cleared Hillary Clinton of criminal charges , the FBI met secretly with Christopher Steele in London and got its hands on Steele 's famed `` dossier '' for the first time .
With Clinton now the certain nominee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidacy and Obama 's legacy .
As the summer progressed , the coup started taking shape .
A year later , the Washington Post published a lengthy , breathless article detailing a critical early August 2016 meeting in the White House .
According to the Post , the CIA 's John Brennan had sent an `` intelligence bombshell '' directly to Obama , an `` eyes only '' report with sourcing deep inside the Kremlin .
This report had to be some subset of Steele 's memos .
It allegedly detailed `` Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race . ''
Reportedly , Putin was not just meddling in the campaign but was actively trying to defeat Hillary and elect Trump .
`` It took time , '' said the Post , `` for other parts of the intelligence community to endorse the CIA 's view . ''
In June 2017 , when this article was published , the Post was still confident that `` Russia 's interference was the crime of the century . ''
It was no such thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's multi-level response to the alleged threat , the Post shed unwitting light on what was the crime of the century , the White House 's framing of Donald Trump for collusion with Russia .
Strzok attended that meeting .
Later in the day on Aug. 5 , texting with Page , he quoted an unnamed bigwig , likely Brennan , as saying , `` The White House is running this . ''
Strzok claimed to have pushed back not because of any perceived impropriety but because the White House was intruding on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Strzok memorably signaled the shared motive of all the conspirators .
`` There 's no way [ Trump ] gets elected – but I 'm afraid we ca n't take that risk , '' he texted Page .
`` It 's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you 're 40 . ''
The ultimate insurance policy was to protect Obama from any blame should the coup blow up in the conspirators ' face , which it ultimately did .
Well enough known was the comically disingenuous email then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self on Inauguration Day , 2017 .
In documenting a Jan. 5 , 2017 , meeting of all the major conspirators , Rice wrote , `` President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book . '
'' Less well-known but even more preposterous is the claim Obama foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes made in his 2018 book , `` The World As It Is . ''
Writing of a time a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Rhodes makes a claim so deep in exculpatory BS it needs to be read in full : '' Of course , we had no idea – Obama had no idea – at the time that there was an FBI investigation into the Trump campaign 's contacts with Russia ; that information was walled off from the White House , and I would n't even learn about it until long after I left government , in the press . ''
As scary as the coup was , and as frustrating as is its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some wonderfully comic moments .
Jack Cashill 's newest book , `` Unmasking Obama , '' is available for pre-order at Amazon .

When the final chapter is written on Obamagate, historians will look to the April 10, 2016, as the day President Barack Obama triggered the eponymous coup.
Leading from behind as was his wont, Obama was never so far behind that he could not see what was to come. From time to time he showed his hand, starting with an April 10, 2016, appearance on a Fox News Sunday morning show with Chris Wallace.
Speaking of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's non-secured emails, Obama said what now reads like a punch line to a joke, "I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department, or the FBI, not just in this case, but in any case."
Promptly subverting that guarantee, Obama denied Clinton had risked national security and dictated the case's outcome: "She has acknowledged − that there's a carelessness, in terms of managing emails, that she has owned, and she recognizes."
Obama had reason to protect Hillary. An indictment increased the odds the White House would fall into enemy hands. If FBI Director James Comey and his colleagues were uncertain of Obama's will before that appearance, they no longer were.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The task fell to the now notorious Peter Strzok, the FBI's lead investigator on the Clinton email case – codename "Midyear Exam" – to align the FBI's messaging with that of the White House.
It was Strzok who changed the language in an earlier draft by Comey from "gross negligence" – the exact words in the Espionage Act – to "extremely careless," the wording Obama introduced in April.
On July 5, 2016, in what even he himself called an "unusual statement," Comey turned the Obama suggestion into public action.
After clearing Secretary Clinton and "her colleagues" of any nefarious intent, Comey said that "they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information."
Comey also insisted, "I have not coordinated or reviewed this statement in any way with the Department of Justice or any other part of the government."
In her testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Strzok's FBI lover, Lisa Page, would suggest otherwise, but that news would come later and quieter.
On July 5, 2016, the very same day Comey cleared Hillary Clinton of criminal charges, the FBI met secretly with Christopher Steele in London and got its hands on Steele's famed "dossier" for the first time. With Clinton now the certain nominee, the pressure increased to protect her candidacy and Obama's legacy.
As the summer progressed, the coup started taking shape. A year later, the Washington Post published a lengthy, breathless article detailing a critical early August 2016 meeting in the White House.
According to the Post, the CIA's John Brennan had sent an "intelligence bombshell" directly to Obama, an "eyes only" report with sourcing deep inside the Kremlin.
This report had to be some subset of Steele's memos. It allegedly detailed "Russian President Vladimir Putin's direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race."
Reportedly, Putin was not just meddling in the campaign but was actively trying to defeat Hillary and elect Trump. "It took time," said the Post, "for other parts of the intelligence community to endorse the CIA's view."
In June 2017, when this article was published, the Post was still confident that "Russia's interference was the crime of the century."
It was no such thing, but in documenting the White House's multi-level response to the alleged threat, the Post shed unwitting light on what was the crime of the century, the White House's framing of Donald Trump for collusion with Russia.
Strzok attended that meeting. Later in the day on Aug. 5, texting with Page, he quoted an unnamed bigwig, likely Brennan, as saying, "The White House is running this."
Strzok claimed to have pushed back not because of any perceived impropriety but because the White House was intruding on FBI turf.
On Aug. 15, Strzok memorably signaled the shared motive of all the conspirators. "There's no way [Trump] gets elected – but I'm afraid we can't take that risk," he texted Page. "It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40."
The ultimate insurance policy was to protect Obama from any blame should the coup blow up in the conspirators' face, which it ultimately did.
Well enough known was the comically disingenuous email then National Security Adviser Susan Rice sent to self on Inauguration Day, 2017.
In documenting a Jan. 5, 2017, meeting of all the major conspirators, Rice wrote, "President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book.'"
Less well-known but even more preposterous is the claim Obama foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes made in his 2018 book, "The World As It Is."
Writing of a time a week or two before Election Day 2016, Rhodes makes a claim so deep in exculpatory BS it needs to be read in full:
"Of course, we had no idea – Obama had no idea – at the time that there was an FBI investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia; that information was walled off from the White House, and I wouldn't even learn about it until long after I left government, in the press."
As scary as the coup was, and as frustrating as is its lack of resolution, Obamagate does have some wonderfully comic moments.
Jack Cashill's newest book, "Unmasking Obama," is available for pre-order at Amazon.


wnd--2020-05-20--Will 2020 be 'the Summer of Stupidity'?

Will 2020 be 'the Summer of Stupidity'?

As I 've managed to chronicle since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic , certain circumstances have prompted a lot of people to reveal their true colors , as it were .
Many of these revelations can be summed up in two words : Dangerous and stupid .
Not all of those who 've displayed dangerous tendencies have evidenced stupidity , nor vice-versa , although some have exhibited both of these dubious qualities .
On the dangerous side , we have numerous newsworthy examples .
Certainly , many who did n't suspect that having uber-progressive governors in their states carried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the face of a crisis situation are now painfully aware of this .
Prior to social distancing , a lot of us were n't aware that so many of our neighbors were of the temperament that they might easily get fired up to burn some witches or turn local Jews in to the Gestapo—but there it is .
Parents have actually been carried off in chains in front of their terrified young children for perceived transgressions in the area of social distancing .
In the realm of the stupid , there have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as those who 've come to blows in public places over someone 's failure to don a mask , or standing too close in line at the grocery store .
Not all of the dangerous deportment and stupidity we 're witnessing has to do with COVID-19 , although I daresay that the reality of the pandemic tends to shed a completely new light on things we might ordinarily find stupid and potentially dangerous .
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue ' judge booted off case I 've long decried the stupidity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race , but in all fairness , this is largely due to their widespread indoctrination into liberal racialist orthodoxy over the last several decades .
Still , such stupidity merits discussion , as it tends to perpetuate ignorance and hatred , which we can all do without .
This week , Stanford University professor Rose Salseda was `` removed from the university 's website '' after being accused of singing along to a song by the rap group N.W.A .
If it offers any insight into the depth of stupidity into which we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name of the group N.W.A .
actually includes the N-word , which should provide an idea of the general caliber of the group and , presumably , their fans .
The lyrics for which Salseda is being censured included the N-word , which is why she has come under fire .
But here 's where the incongruity comes in .
According to press reports , Stanford student government leader and Black Studies major Kobe Hopkins condemned Salseda over her use of the term , complaining `` Why do we have to put up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' It 's become clear in recent years that whites can no longer use the N-word even in context ( as opposed to directing it toward someone as a slur ) without those on the left losing their minds .
Granted that this is ridiculous , infantile and about as snowflakey as it gets , but here 's the thing : Professor Salseda is obviously Latina .
Until this story broke , it was my understanding that Latinos and Latinas were considered `` people of color '' who were thereby entitled to all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occupying the identity politics tent of the left .
As a matter of fact , there are many Spanish-speaking people – such as some Cubans , Dominicans and Puerto Ricans – who are black .
Many brown Spanish-speakers have just as much affinity for the rap subculture as English-speaking black youth , which would tend to explain Salseda chiming in with the N.W.A .
track .
So , are the racialist elite students at Stanford now establishing that Latinos/Latinas are no longer `` people of color '' and no longer entitled to all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occupying the identity politics tent of the left ?
Or have they just dialed-up their sensitivities , thereby deeming any affinity toward black culture as `` cultural appropriation , '' even by those once considered `` people of color '' ?
Will it now be acceptable to physically assault anyone who is not black for singing along to an N.W.A .
song because they 're engaging in `` racial violence '' by doing so ?
As we are all aware , the dreaded N-word gets a whole lot of play in rap music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , non-blacks have been admonished to tolerate it because to do otherwise would be an attempt to deprive young blacks of their culture – which would be racist , of course .
However , as I 've pointed out numerous times ( including in one of my first columns for WND ) , hypersensitive politically correct sentiments , black culture and the rap movement itself have all been defined by white leftists .
How convenient it is , then , that this convention encourages blacks to debase themselves through use of the N-word @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day long , yet we 're told by the same white leftists that they should be allowed to wallow in this fetid mire because it is their birthright .
If the reader has n't yet figured it out , this represents an object lesson in how stupid and dangerous this far left racialist orthodoxy actually is .
At this point , anyone who abides it for fear of being labeled a racist – which is what leftists bank on – has made himself part of the problem .

As I've managed to chronicle since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, certain circumstances have prompted a lot of people to reveal their true colors, as it were. Many of these revelations can be summed up in two words: Dangerous and stupid.
Not all of those who've displayed dangerous tendencies have evidenced stupidity, nor vice-versa, although some have exhibited both of these dubious qualities.
On the dangerous side, we have numerous newsworthy examples. Certainly, many who didn't suspect that having uber-progressive governors in their states carried the potential for serious civil rights violations in the face of a crisis situation are now painfully aware of this. Prior to social distancing, a lot of us weren't aware that so many of our neighbors were of the temperament that they might easily get fired up to burn some witches or turn local Jews in to the Gestapo—but there it is. Parents have actually been carried off in chains in front of their terrified young children for perceived transgressions in the area of social distancing.
In the realm of the stupid, there have been plentiful examples as well, such as those who've come to blows in public places over someone's failure to don a mask, or standing too close in line at the grocery store.
Not all of the dangerous deportment and stupidity we're witnessing has to do with COVID-19, although I daresay that the reality of the pandemic tends to shed a completely new light on things we might ordinarily find stupid and potentially dangerous.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
I've long decried the stupidity of black Americans as regards issues of race, but in all fairness, this is largely due to their widespread indoctrination into liberal racialist orthodoxy over the last several decades. Still, such stupidity merits discussion, as it tends to perpetuate ignorance and hatred, which we can all do without.
This week, Stanford University professor Rose Salseda was "removed from the university's website" after being accused of singing along to a song by the rap group N.W.A. If it offers any insight into the depth of stupidity into which we're about to descend, the full name of the group N.W.A. actually includes the N-word, which should provide an idea of the general caliber of the group and, presumably, their fans.
The lyrics for which Salseda is being censured included the N-word, which is why she has come under fire. But here's where the incongruity comes in.
According to press reports, Stanford student government leader and Black Studies major Kobe Hopkins condemned Salseda over her use of the term, complaining "Why do we have to put up with that kind of racial violence?"
It's become clear in recent years that whites can no longer use the N-word even in context (as opposed to directing it toward someone as a slur) without those on the left losing their minds. Granted that this is ridiculous, infantile and about as snowflakey as it gets, but here's the thing:
Professor Salseda is obviously Latina. Until this story broke, it was my understanding that Latinos and Latinas were considered "people of color" who were thereby entitled to all of the rights and privileges of those occupying the identity politics tent of the left. As a matter of fact, there are many Spanish-speaking people – such as some Cubans, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans – who are black. Many brown Spanish-speakers have just as much affinity for the rap subculture as English-speaking black youth, which would tend to explain Salseda chiming in with the N.W.A. track.
So, are the racialist elite students at Stanford now establishing that Latinos/Latinas are no longer "people of color" and no longer entitled to all of the rights and privileges of those occupying the identity politics tent of the left? Or have they just dialed-up their sensitivities, thereby deeming any affinity toward black culture as "cultural appropriation," even by those once considered "people of color"? Will it now be acceptable to physically assault anyone who is not black for singing along to an N.W.A. song because they're engaging in "racial violence" by doing so?
As we are all aware, the dreaded N-word gets a whole lot of play in rap music and, offensive though it may be, non-blacks have been admonished to tolerate it because to do otherwise would be an attempt to deprive young blacks of their culture – which would be racist, of course.
However, as I've pointed out numerous times (including in one of my first columns for WND), hypersensitive politically correct sentiments, black culture and the rap movement itself have all been defined by white leftists. How convenient it is, then, that this convention encourages blacks to debase themselves through use of the N-word, moral ambivalence and self-destructive behaviors all day long, yet we're told by the same white leftists that they should be allowed to wallow in this fetid mire because it is their birthright.
If the reader hasn't yet figured it out, this represents an object lesson in how stupid and dangerous this far left racialist orthodoxy actually is. At this point, anyone who abides it for fear of being labeled a racist – which is what leftists bank on – has made himself part of the problem.


wnd--2020-05-20--Prof tells student to 'drop dead,' and that's when the problems began

An organization that promotes free speech on university campuses says Columbia should not discipline a professor for telling a student during an online exchange to `` drop dead . ''
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said the dispute erupted between City University of New York student Gabriel Montalvo and Columbia professor Jeffrey Lax over President Trump .
Lax and the student exchanged Facebook comments April 6 over Trump 's response to the coronavirus pandemic , FIRE said .
Montalvo defended the president 's response to the outbreak , and Lax criticized it .
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case But FIRE said Columbia should resist efforts to punish or even fire Lax , who is in the university 's political science division .
Lax told the student to `` drop dead '' and called him a `` neo-nazi murderer-lover . ''
Montalvo complained about the name-calling , the report said .
However , FIRE concluded that the exchange did not violate Columbia 's free speech policy or the First Amendment .
`` To the contrary , both the First Amendment and Columbia ’ s own guarantees of free expression protect precisely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Columbia , which is a private school not bound by the First Amendment , nonetheless has its own excellent free speech policy .
Columbia ’ s Affirmative Statement section of its University Regulations provides a resounding commitment to freedom of expression , '' the organization said .
`` Columbia has a long tradition of valuing dissent and controversy and in welcoming the clash of opinions onto the campus , '' the policy states .
FIRE said : `` The university can not and will not rule any subject or form of expression out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is objectionable , offensive , immoral , or untrue .
Viewpoints will inevitably conflict , and members of the university community will disagree with and may even take offense at both the opinions expressed by others and the manner in which they are expressed .
But the role of the university is not to shield individuals from positions that they find unwelcome .
Rather , the university is a place for received wisdom and firmly held views to be tested , and tested again… '' FIRE said Lax 's comments were name-calling not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' may be inflammatory , but no reasonable person would interpret it as an assertion of fact , '' FIRE said .

An organization that promotes free speech on campuses across the nation says Columbia should not put a professor on track for discipline for telling a student during an online exchange to "drop dead."
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education explained the dispute erupted between CUNY student Gabriel Montalvo and Columbia prof Jeffrey Lax over President Trump.
Lax and the student exchanged Facebook comments April 6 over President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, FIRE reported. Montalvo defended the president's response to the outbreak, and Lax criticized it.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
But FIRE said Columbia should resist efforts to punish or even fire Lax, who is in the schools' political science division.
Lax let his online comments stray into the extreme, telling the student to "drop dead" and calling him a "neo-nazi murderer-lover."
Montalvo complained about the name-calling, the report said.
However, FIRE concluded that the exchange did not violate Columbia's free speech policy or the First Amendment.
"To the contrary, both the First Amendment and Columbia’s own guarantees of free expression protect precisely this sort of divisive political exchange. Columbia, which is a private school not bound by the First Amendment, nonetheless has its own excellent free speech policy. Columbia’s Affirmative Statement section of its University Regulations provides a resounding commitment to freedom of expression," the organization said.
"Columbia has a long tradition of valuing dissent and controversy and in welcoming the clash of opinions onto the campus," FIRE said the policy states.
That includes "objectionable, offensive, immoral, or untrue" expression.
FIRE said, "The university cannot and will not rule any subject or form of expression out of order on the ground that it is objectionable, offensive, immoral, or untrue. Viewpoints will inevitably conflict, and members of the university community will disagree with and may even take offense at both the opinions expressed by others and the manner in which they are expressed. But the role of the university is not to shield individuals from positions that they find unwelcome. Rather, the university is a place for received wisdom and firmly held views to be tested, and tested again…"
The report concluded that Lax's comments were name-calling, not libel.
"Calling someone a 'Nazi' may be inflammatory, but no reasonable person would interpret it as an assertion of fact," the report said.
.


wnd--2020-05-20--Stop the global socioeconomic suicide!

Stop the global socioeconomic suicide!

Many are now openly asking if the COVID-19 reaction was overblown , and in that case , who pushed the exaggerations ?
If politically motivated , the misinformation forecasting mass deaths has contributed to the largest economic meltdown in a century .
It was n't lack of supply or demand that halted growth , but political decisions .
We are consequently facing the financial meltdown of a century by political choice .
`` You have a 0.03 % chance of dying from COVID in the state of California .
Does that necessitate people being out of work ? ''
asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently .
He showed how COVID-19 has taken very few lives in the state of California , questioning the continued economic lockdowns .
The question is legitimate , as China – whom we all seem to follow in their spearheading of lockdowns – only closed down its epicenter , Wuhan and its Hubei province .
Dr. Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi urged the California government to lift the extreme measures .
Tesla CEO Elon Musk , retweeted , `` Docs make good points . ''
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 to an influenza with millions of cases but small numbers of death .
The death rate for California of approximately 0.03 % is in line with the Rystad Energy estimates and others .
Rystad reports that as of April 27 , 54 million people have likely been infected with COVID-19 .
When comparing regular seasonal influenzas to COVID-19 , the flus are so far more deadly .
Worldwide , 650,000 people die yearly of a regular influenza , according to the World Health Organization .
Even in the United States , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 80,000 , according to CNN .
Where was the overly eager Bill Gates in 2018 ?
Eighty thousand deaths in the USA alone is quite a pandemic .
Why no media attention back then , why no requirements to shut down the economy and isolate everyone ?
The current number of deaths in the U.S. is unreliable , as `` assumption of coronavirus '' is enough evidence to submit `` death by coronavirus . ''
Stanford University School of Medicine professor John Ioannidis is one of the most-cited scientists of all times in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 17 that the economic lockdowns as a response to COVID-19 could be a `` once in a century evidence fiasco . ''
He has described the coronavirus as a `` very common , mild infection for the vast majority of the population . ''
`` It is now clear that the lockdowns were a major mistake everywhere except the New York City metro area , and possibly even there , '' said former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson .
From day 1 , we suggested at The Herland Report that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the U.S.-China trade war .
We wrote about WHO leader Marxist-Leninist Dr. Tedros ' possible politizationthe day before President Trump addressed it .
The Imperial College Report , which showed that millions would die , was central to make the U.K. and U.S. change their herd immunity strategies .
The report has since turned out to be fraudulent , its author Neil Ferguson sacked and the entire report not even peer-reviewed .
Ferguson was notorious for overestimating numbers , both during Ebola and the Swine flu .
Ferguson estimated that 150,000 would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Foot and Clove flu .
Two hundred died .
As it turns out , Dr. Anthony Fauci now says that it was he and Dr. Deborah Birx who came into President Trump 's office and made him change his mind about herd immunity , allegedly based on the Imperial College Report .
It seems , then , that it was Dr. Fauci who persuaded the president to shut down , which effectively has crippled the soaring U.S. economy .
They allegedly did this based on the Imperial College Report , which said millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States .
As many as 1,100,000 died from smoking in the same time period as COVID-19 , according to Worldometer info .
Two million died from cancer in the same period , and as much as 2.4 million from hunger .
Bill Gates , WHO and CNN saw no need to sound the alarm about that .
Due to the extreme lockdown measures , 1.1 billion now risk starvation .
In the U.K. alone , 3 million go hungry due to the lockdown , according toa recent report .
The narrative has become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people '' and remaining in lockdown , or caring `` only for the economy and money '' and reopening .
This ill-advised narrative prevents politicians from reopening , although they know this to be the right move .
The economy is the well-being of the people .
With a destroyed economy , mass unemployment and bankruptcies , there is no healthy people , only national suffering .
This seems to be the chosen path .
Watch one of Hanne 's interviews with Dr. Ron Paul :

Many are now openly asking if the COVID-19 reaction was overblown, and in that case, who pushed the exaggerations? If politically motivated, the misinformation forecasting mass deaths has contributed to the largest economic meltdown in a century.
It wasn't lack of supply or demand that halted growth, but political decisions. We are consequently facing the financial meltdown of a century by political choice.
"You have a 0.03% chance of dying from COVID in the state of California. Does that necessitate people being out of work?" asked Accelerated Urgent Care owner Dr. Dan Erickson recently.
He showed how COVID-19 has taken very few lives in the state of California, questioning the continued economic lockdowns. The question is legitimate, as China – whom we all seem to follow in their spearheading of lockdowns – only closed down its epicenter, Wuhan and its Hubei province.
Dr. Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi urged the California government to lift the extreme measures. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, retweeted, "Docs make good points."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
They compared COVID-19 to an influenza with millions of cases but small numbers of death. The death rate for California of approximately 0.03% is in line with the Rystad Energy estimates and others. Rystad reports that as of April 27, 54 million people have likely been infected with COVID-19.
When comparing regular seasonal influenzas to COVID-19,the flus are so far more deadly. Worldwide, 650,000 people die yearly of a regular influenza, according to the World Health Organization.
Even in the United States, the 2018 deaths from regular influenza was around 80,000, according to CNN. Where was the overly eager Bill Gates in 2018? Eighty thousand deaths in the USA alone is quite a pandemic. Why no media attention back then, why no requirements to shut down the economy and isolate everyone?
The current number of deaths in the U.S. is unreliable, as "assumption of coronavirus" is enough evidence to submit "death by coronavirus."
Stanford University School of Medicine professor John Ioannidis is one of the most-cited scientists of all times in the scientific literature. He said on March 17 that the economic lockdowns as a response to COVID-19 could be a "once in a century evidence fiasco."
He has described the coronavirus as a "very common, mild infection for the vast majority of the population."
"It is now clear that the lockdowns were a major mistake everywhere except the New York City metro area, and possibly even there," said former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson.
From day 1, we suggested at The Herland Report that the corona crisis must be seen in light of the U.S.-China trade war. We wrote about WHO leader Marxist-Leninist Dr. Tedros' possible politizationthe day before President Trump addressed it.
The Imperial College Report, which showed that millions would die, was central to make the U.K. and U.S. change their herd immunity strategies. The report has since turned out to be fraudulent, its author Neil Ferguson sacked and the entire report not even peer-reviewed. Ferguson was notorious for overestimating numbers, both during Ebola and the Swine flu. Ferguson estimated that 150,000 would die in the United Kingdom during the Foot and Clove flu. Two hundred died.
As it turns out, Dr. Anthony Fauci now says that it was he and Dr. Deborah Birx who came into President Trump's office and made him change his mind about herd immunity, allegedly based on the Imperial College Report.
It seems, then, that it was Dr. Fauci who persuaded the president to shut down, which effectively has crippled the soaring U.S. economy. They allegedly did this based on the Imperial College Report, which said millions would die from coronavirus in the United States.
As many as 1,100,000 died from smoking in the same time period as COVID-19, according to Worldometer info. Two million died from cancer in the same period, and as much as 2.4 million from hunger. Bill Gates, WHO and CNN saw no need to sound the alarm about that.
Due to the extreme lockdown measures, 1.1 billion now risk starvation. In the U.K. alone, 3 million go hungry due to the lockdown, according toa recent report.
The narrative has become that of either "caring for the people" and remaining in lockdown, or caring "only for the economy and money" and reopening. This ill-advised narrative prevents politicians from reopening, although they know this to be the right move.
The economy is the well-being of the people. With a destroyed economy, mass unemployment and bankruptcies, there is no healthy people, only national suffering. This seems to be the chosen path.
Watch one of Hanne's interviews with Dr. Ron Paul:


wnd--2020-05-20--It's time to doubt the numbers – and the people who use and abuse them

Sticks and stones may break my bones , but words can never hurt me .
Numbers – that 's a different story .
In recent days , numbers have made us do gladly that which we would have only done at the end of a bayonet a few weeks ago .
Let 's face the fear , and look at the numbers .
Every 10 or 11 years when a new influenza-like illness appears , epidemiologists know there are many uncounted cases at first .
At that point in time it is irresponsible and misleading to assign a mortality rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exactly what Dr. Anthony Fauci did , proclaiming COVID-19 's MR is `` 10 times greater than seasonal flu . ''
We now know the MR of COVID-19 is about one- or two-tenths of 1 percent , similar to seasonal flu .
Large pandemics have always been described within a range .
Authorities say anywhere from 20 to 100 million died from the 1918-19 Spanish flu .
The same is true of the Hong Kong flu of 1968 and the Swine flu ( 2009 ) .
COVID-19 is no different .
Numbers being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the WHO/CDC are in the middle of a range ; they simply do n't tell us what that range is .
It could be anywhere from 2:1 to 5:1 .
So the real numbers could be higher – or much , much lower .
Try finding out how many have died from falls in the bathtub or in car accidents – same thing .
TRENDING : Flynn lawyer moves to get 'rogue ' judge booted off case The Swine flu of 1976 should have taught us a lesson .
Thirteen soldiers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ novel '' coronavirus ; one died .
Within months the U.S. spent millions and pushed an early vaccine intended for the entire population , a vaccine that sickened and killed many .
Everyone feared for their lives .
How many died worldwide of Swine flu ?
One .
GlobalSecurity.org has the story here .
We have suffered because of a modeling report released March 16 , 2020 , by the Imperial College London , which claimed 2.2 million Americans could die .
The excuse that `` they were going on the information they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an excuse .
In addition , numbers are being padded .
One public official , Dr. Deborah Birx , readily admits that `` probable '' cases are now being counted in the same category as `` confirmed '' cases .
On April 7 , 2020 , she said , `` … anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 and dies should be counted as a COVID-19 death , regardless of whether he or she had underlying conditions . ''
Nothing new here ; the CDC began the practice during the Swine flu epidemic of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from its count under pressure from county coroners .
In May San Diego County , California , admitted that only six of its 194 reported deaths were confirmed .
NYC added 3,700 names on one day ; hundreds more were often added to previous days without documentation .
In Lee County , Alabama , the weekend of March 28-29 , six patients died at East Alabama Medical Center ; some reports said seven .
As of Friday the 27th there had been only three statewide deaths from COVID .
Confusion ensued concerning both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which ones were reported to be due to COVID-19 .
On the next Monday all seven were reported as such by East Alabama Medical Center .
It would have taken state officials until at least Thursday to make that determination .
On Wednesday the hospital stopped making reported numbers available to the public .
It 's bad public health policy to rely upon one set of numbers , such as a decline in new cases , to determine a course of action : During the off-season , no ILI ( influenza-like illness ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Do mitigation efforts work ?
Think about it this way : You take your umbrella to work and it rains during the day .
Conclusion : taking your umbrella caused the rain .
We practice social distancing and the numbers go down .
Conclusion : social distancing caused the numbers to go down .
It 's the same lack of logic .
Many factors , from the weather , to herd immunity , to the density of cities has an impact on the numbers going down .
It just happened concurrently .
All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go down .
This is the stuff that makes people believe magic tricks .
Right now in the U.S. alone we are doing roughly 400,000 tests a day at $ 100 apiece , profiting someone $ 40 million a day .
In 90 days that 's $ 3.6 billion .
That 's one number we do know for certain .
The eighth-leading cause of death in the U.S. has been seasonal influenza combined with pneumonia , averaging around 38,000 per year for the last 10 years .
According to UPI.com , `` … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flu has caused death in roughly 24,000 people across the country , the CDC estimates . ''
That 's 37 percent below average ; not rare but unusual .
Since clinical symptoms are similar , could many of the real seasonal flu deaths be getting counted as COVID-19 ?
It would seem so , especially since clinical diagnosis without testing is allowed .
We need a renewed commitment to truth in numbers .
Dan Rembold is a college instructor , aspiring boat-builder and sailor .
He holds degrees in Applied Piano and Biblical @ @ @ @

By Dan Rembold
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. Numbers – that's a different story.
In recent days, numbers have made us do gladly that which we would have only done at the end of a bayonet a few weeks ago. Let's face the fear, and look at the numbers.
Every 10 or 11 years when a new influenza-like illness appears, epidemiologists know there are many uncounted cases at first. At that point in time it is irresponsible and misleading to assign a mortality rate to the disease. Yet that is exactly what Dr. Anthony Fauci did, proclaiming COVID-19's MR is "10 times greater than seasonal flu." We now know the MR of COVID-19 is about one- or two-tenths of 1 percent, similar to seasonal flu.
Large pandemics have always been described within a range. Authorities say anywhere from 20 to 100 million died from the 1918-19 Spanish flu. The same is true of the Hong Kong flu of 1968 and the Swine flu (2009). COVID-19 is no different. Numbers being circulated by worldometers.com, Johns Hopkins University and the WHO/CDC are in the middle of a range; they simply don't tell us what that range is. It could be anywhere from 2:1 to 5:1. So the real numbers could be higher – or much, much lower. Try finding out how many have died from falls in the bathtub or in car accidents – same thing.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The Swine flu of 1976 should have taught us a lesson. Thirteen soldiers were stricken early that year by a "novel" coronavirus; one died. Within months the U.S. spent millions and pushed an early vaccine intended for the entire population, a vaccine that sickened and killed many. Everyone feared for their lives. How many died worldwide of Swine flu? One. GlobalSecurity.org has the story here.
We have suffered because of a modeling report released March 16, 2020, by the Imperial College London, which claimed 2.2 million Americans could die. The excuse that "they were going on the information they had at the time" is not an excuse.
In addition, numbers are being padded.
One public official, Dr. Deborah Birx, readily admits that "probable" cases are now being counted in the same category as "confirmed" cases. On April 7, 2020, she said, "… anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 and dies should be counted as a COVID-19 death, regardless of whether he or she had underlying conditions." Nothing new here; the CDC began the practice during the Swine flu epidemic of 2009.
Pennsylvania has removed 200 deaths from its count under pressure from county coroners. In May San Diego County, California, admitted that only six of its 194 reported deaths were confirmed. NYC added 3,700 names on one day; hundreds more were often added to previous days without documentation.
In Lee County, Alabama, the weekend of March 28-29, six patients died at East Alabama Medical Center; some reports said seven. As of Friday the 27th there had been only three statewide deaths from COVID.
Confusion ensued concerning both the number of people who died and which ones were reported to be due to COVID-19. On the next Monday all seven were reported as such by East Alabama Medical Center. It would have taken state officials until at least Thursday to make that determination. On Wednesday the hospital stopped making reported numbers available to the public.
It's bad public health policy to rely upon one set of numbers, such as a decline in new cases, to determine a course of action: During the off-season, no ILI (influenza-like illness) ever goes to zero new cases.
Do mitigation efforts work? Think about it this way:
You take your umbrella to work and it rains during the day. Conclusion: taking your umbrella caused the rain.
We practice social distancing and the numbers go down. Conclusion: social distancing caused the numbers to go down. It's the same lack of logic.
Many factors, from the weather, to herd immunity, to the density of cities has an impact on the numbers going down. It just happened concurrently. All ILI's go up. Then they go down.
This is the stuff that makes people believe magic tricks.
Right now in the U.S. alone we are doing roughly 400,000 tests a day at $100 apiece, profiting someone $40 million a day. In 90 days that's $3.6 billion.
That's one number we do know for certain.
The eighth-leading cause of death in the U.S. has been seasonal influenza combined with pneumonia, averaging around 38,000 per year for the last 10 years. According to UPI.com, "… so far this winter season, the flu has caused death in roughly 24,000 people across the country, the CDC estimates." That's 37 percent below average; not rare but unusual. Since clinical symptoms are similar, could many of the real seasonal flu deaths be getting counted as COVID-19? It would seem so, especially since clinical diagnosis without testing is allowed.
We need a renewed commitment to truth in numbers.
Numbers don't lie. People do.
Dan Rembold is a college instructor, aspiring boat-builder and sailor. He holds degrees in Applied Piano and Biblical Hebrew and Greek.