lewrockwell--2020-03-21--The Crony Capitalist Thieves Are Back

The Crony Capitalist Thieves Are Back

The nerve of it is a wonder to behold .
The US airline industry has spent a decade shoving itself into harm ’ s way by strip-mining their balance sheets to fund share buybacks and goose top executive stock options .
For crying out loud – the reckless irresponsibility of it is mind-boggling .
That ’ s because for decades upon decades this has been a highly cyclical industry – vulnerable to global dislocations caused by recessions , storms , wars , terror and more .
Accordingly , airline companies absolutely need deep equity balance sheets and ample standby liquidity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earnings .
Needless to say , the Big Four US airlines – Delta , United , American , and Southwest – were having none of financial rationality , prudence and common sense .
As Wolf Richter properly pointed out : “ These stocks are now getting crushed because they may run out of cash in a few months , yet they would be the primary recipients of that $ 50 billion bailout , well , after they wasted , blew , and incinerated willfully and recklessly together $ 43.7 billion in cash on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purpose of enriching the very shareholders that will now be bailed out by the taxpayer.
” We say nothing doing !
If the Big Four Airlines can ’ t raise enough cash in the high cost long term debt markets or by issuing highly dilutive preferred stock or equity , there is only one solution – and that is chapter 11 .
Holy moly , that ’ s why we have this legal protection procedure .
Peak Trump : The Undrai ... David A. Stockman Best Price : $ 12.72 Buy New $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business for the duration of the great COVID spring break anyway .
So let the court-appointed trustees operate with the same skeleton crews that the airlines will be running even if they get the bailout .
The level of customer service and employment will be essentially the same in either case .
More importantly , let the gamblers and so-called investors who piled into these stocks get their just deserts .
That is , a 100 % loss on their gambling stakes because that ’ s all it ever was when the Big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 130 billion compared to just $ 43 billion now .
Even more importantly , let these bankrupt shareholders file class action suits against the idiots and clowns in the C-suites and on the boards of directors who made such foolish decisions in the first place .
Hopefully , these cats would be legally stalked and harassed to the ends of the earth as an object lesson in the personal cost of imperiling corporate balance sheets to feather their own stock options nest .
Of course , the airlines are only the poster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truth .
The problem is universal because today ’ s rotten regime of Keynesian central banking has caused the entire financial system and main street economy to become riddled with rank speculation and reckless disregard for financial discipline and prudence .
And the crime starts right in the Eccles Building where over the last several decades an inbred posse of PhDs and Washington apparatchiks have taken it upon themselves to destroy honest price discovery in the money and capital markets in the name of levitating financial asset prices and thereby fostering more growth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the main street economy would allegedly produce on its own .
Self-evidently , main street didn ’ t need no stinkin ’ help from a wan na be 12-member monetary politburo .
They have created serial bubbles that have gotten more inflated with each cycle , leaving the main street economy exposed to increasingly brutal episodes of correction when the proverbial Black Swan , or Black Bat , as the case may be , makes its grim appearance .
Still , the very idea that agents of the state could have enough information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of traders , investors , speculators and dealers was ridiculous from the start ; and the further idea that financial assets prices falsified by the FOMC to the second decimal point could cause main street to produce more output , jobs , efficiency and real living standard gains than would be the case under market determined financial asset prices was even more ludicrous .
Self-evidently , the only thing Keynesian central bankers have accomplished has been to fuel egregious speculations in the canyons of Wall Street ; drain main street businesses of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and households living hand-to-mouth and therefore vulnerable to even short-run interruptions of cash flow .
So we will say it again : Hand-to-mouth economics is not the natural modality on the free market ; it is a malignant product of bad money and the debt-fueled speculative manias that are the consequence of Keynesian central banking .
Left to their own devices on the free market , households save and provide for rainy days , regardless of income level or social status .
Likewise , in a world not poisoned by cheap debt and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their balance sheets and provide for cash flow interruptions either by buying insurance or setting aside liquid reserves and equity capital based shock absorbers .
That ’ s the real message of this – the second great financial heart attack of the last decade .
But rather than allowing the rot to be purged , the central bankers are now out pouring kerosene on the fires .
That is , insisting upon even greater central bank intrusion in the financial markets and even more egregious falsification of the prices of money , debt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In effect , they are advocating the complete euthanasia of market prices in the financial system in favor of their own administered price folly .
At some point the very chutzpah of it gets downright maddening .
We are referring to this morning ’ s missive in the FT from the Boobsie Twins , Ben Bernanke , and Janet Yellen , who were major architects of the disaster now underway .
The Great Deformation : ... David A. Stockman Best Price : $ 2.00 Buy New $ 9.95 Yet they now want the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporate debt and who knows what else : The Fed could ask Congress for the authority to buy limited amounts of investment-grade corporate debt .
Most central banks already have this power , and the European Central Bank and the Bank of England regularly use it .
The Fed ’ s intervention could help restart that part of the corporate debt market , which is under significant stress .
Such a programme would have to be carefully calibrated to minimise the credit risk taken by the Fed while still providing needed liquidity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a risible lie .
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the corporate debt market that even a modicum of honest interest rates could not handle .
That ’ s evident from the price chart of the largest corporate bond ETF shown below .
It is trading no lower than in previous risk-off periods including November-December 2018 , January 2016 , late 2013 and during the US debt ceiling crisis of August 2011 .
Yes , it has plunged from the absurd levels reached during the stock markets blow-off top a few weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the February extreme , the implied yield on corporate debt was hardly 2.6 % , and even after the price plunge of recent days the implied yield is just 3.7 % .
So what in the world are the Boobsie Twins talking about ?
Do they really think we are stupid enough to believe that a 3.7 % investment grade yield is an end of the world crisis that requires the Fed to put its Big Fat Thumb on this sector of the rates market , too , after it has already reduced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when you look at the real corporate debt yield after inflation it is downright minuscule at 1.35 % .
So these Keynesian morons want the Fed to buy massive amounts of investment grade corporate debt with fiat credits snatched from thin air because they think , apparently , that the US economy will collapse at a real yield to just 1.35 % after the current running level of inflation .
So what we have here is a far more insidious reality .
Namely , the reaction function of Keynesian central bankers past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syndrome .
These cats think they have the entire $ 85 trillion world economy on their shoulders and that any time there is an abrupt re-pricing of the hideous financial bubbles they have inflated , they propose to throw financial sanity to the winds lest the whole financial system and economy splatter against the wall .
It won ’ t , of course , because re-pricing of financial assets back to quasi-sane levels is actually what is desperately needed to stop the violent boom and bust cycles that have been gaining momentum under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stated differently , if Keynesian central banks fear a 3.7 % investment grade bond yield , what they actually fear is the price mechanism itself .
That ’ s the heart of the matter : All of the emergency facilities and new legislative authority proposals emanating from the central bankers and their Wall Street acolytes and shills are designed to eviscerate and override the price mechanism in the financial markets .
The very absurdity and danger of that idea , however , is dramatized in spades by the juxtaposition of what happened yesterday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emailing their draft FT op ed back and forth during market daylight hours .
Alas , the corporate bond market was so badly “ broken ” as they penned up their SOS proposal that , well , the largest amount of corporate debt deals of the year was brought to market !
That ’ s right .
About $ 28 billion of new deals were priced yesterday , of which $ 10 billion were was 20+ years .
Duh .
If that ’ s “ broken ” , we truly do not understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually inhabit .
On the other hand , we know full well where drastic and sustained repression of bond yields have already led .
To wit , to a massive scramble for yield among money managers , which in turn has fueled the outbreak of epic-scale financial engineering in the C-suites .
That ’ s because they could sell ultra-cheap debt for any cockamamie purpose that pleased Wall Street , including idiotic empire-building through M & A and the depletion of corporate cash reserves and debt capacity in order to fund massive stock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indeed , from the point of view of the central banker Atlas Syndrome , financial price repression is the gift that keeps on giving .
Having dissipated their balance sheet liquidity on financial engineering , corporations now allegedly are facing a liquidity squeeze owing to the COVID-19 supply-side shocks .
So without missing a beat , the Fed was out with a resurrection of the emergency commercial paper funding facility that was used during the 2008 crisis to rescue con men like General Electric ’ s Jeff Immelt , who had loaded his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 200 million of cheap commercial paper .
As explained below , that particular facility ended up so malodorous even in the eyes of the fools who populate Capitol Hill that they forbade the Fed from using it in the future without the permission of the Secretary of the Treasury .
Little did they anticipate , of course , that during the next financial meltdown the office would be occupied by the greatest flunky to ever hold the post , and that his real job as the Donald ’ s campaign finance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ till for whatever it would take to insure his re-election .
So now that Secy Mnuchin has green-flagged this abomination , just recall briefly what happened last time around .
Back then the alleged titan of corporate America didn ’ t cotton to the idea of paying 5 % or 7 % or even 10 % to rollover his short-term funding , least the hit to earnings would have monkey-hammered his 2008 bonus and the value of his massive stock options .
So Immelt went running to his Goldman Sachs benefactor , Hank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open up a window at the Fed under its emergency section 13-3 authority .
That action guaranteed virtually unlimited commercial paper funding at the Fed window ’ s ultra-cheap rates so as not to disturb the year end bonuses of Immelt or hundreds of other CEOs who had put their companies in harm ’ s way be over-reliance on cheap short-term funding .
As it happened , the commercial paper bailout didn ’ t help GE anyway , as perhaps indicated by the shrinkage of its market cap from $ 500 billion at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ present .
But more importantly , there was absolutely no shortage of cash available to GE when Immelt pulled his crony capitalist raid 12 years ago .
What it needed to do was fill the approximate $ 30 billion hole in its balance sheet by raising long-term debt , preferred stock or even common stock .
Trumped !
A Nation on t ... David A. Stockman Best Price : $ 2.05 Buy New $ 9.50 Yet , the mere statement of the obvious underscores the entire scam behind the Fed ’ s intrusions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these so-called emergency facilities .
To wit , they have nothing to do with insuring the companies have the cash to meet their payrolls or pay other bills as is so mendaciously claimed by Wall Street and the Eccles Building .
No , it ’ s about keeping the cost of capital ultra low and minimizing the hit to earnings that might result from tapping higher cost capital markets , which are still wide-open at a higher yield per yesterday ’ s massive pricing of new corporate debt issues .
In more unvarnished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this massive new commercial paper facility , which the Fed has stood up practically overnight , is protection of corporate earnings , CEO bonuses and stock options and the remaining winnings of Wall Street gamblers .
The chart below highlights the massive lie behind this new facility .
The ostensible reason was that commercial paper yields spiked in the last few days from practically nothing to hardly much more .
In the case of AA rated three-month nonfinancial commercial paper , the yield rose from 0.86 % on March 10 to 1.34 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Back on February 27 when the stock market was just off its all-time highs , and when Powell was claiming the US economy was in a “ good place “ and the Donald was ballyhooing the Greatest Economy Ever the yield on this prime 90 day paper was actually higher at 1.56 % !
Think about that one .
In less than three weeks the Fed has panicked into resurrecting the Jeff Immelt Memorial Scam with commercial paper rates so low as to make a mockery of the notion of a shock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Still , the dutiful shills of the Wall Street Journal cut and pasted the Fed ’ s press release to this effect : To ease escalating strains in credit markets .
Turmoil escalated in commercial paper in recent days , sending the cost of borrowing for companies sharply higher , in some cases above the cost of selling 30-year bonds .
Investors including money-market funds have sold commercial paper , saddling dealers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. with more inventory at a time when they could least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year history of the AA rated three month nonfinancial commercial paper yield .
Self-evidently , a 1.34 % interest rate is not going to break the American economy , nor would 2.00 % or 4.00 % or even 6.00 % .
Indeed , if the market were allowed to clear at those levels the only “ shock ” which would trouble Wall Street would be the plunging stock prices which might result from companies having to pay a market rate of interest or issue dilutive amounts of common stock or long-term debt .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Best of David Stockman

The nerve of it is a wonder to behold. The US airline industry has spent a decade shoving itself into harm’s way by strip-mining their balance sheets to fund share buybacks and goose top executive stock options.
For crying out loud – the reckless irresponsibility of it is mind-boggling. That’s because for decades upon decades this has been a highly cyclical industry – vulnerable to global dislocations caused by recessions, storms, wars, terror and more. Accordingly, airline companies absolutely need deep equity balance sheets and ample standby liquidity, even at the expense of short-term earnings.
Needless to say, the Big Four US airlines – Delta, United, American, and Southwest – were having none of financial rationality, prudence and common sense. As Wolf Richter properly pointed out:
“These stocks are now getting crushed because they may run out of cash in a few months, yet they would be the primary recipients of that $50 billion bailout, well, after they wasted, blew, and incinerated willfully and recklessly together $43.7 billion in cash on share buybacks since 2012 for the sole purpose of enriching the very shareholders that will now be bailed out by the taxpayer.”
We say nothing doing!
If the Big Four Airlines can’t raise enough cash in the high cost long term debt markets or by issuing highly dilutive preferred stock or equity, there is only one solution – and that is chapter 11. Holy moly, that’s why we have this legal protection procedure. Peak Trump: The Undrai... David A. Stockman Best Price: $12.72 Buy New $43.07 (as of 11:40 UTC - Details)
The airlines will have precious little business for the duration of the great COVID spring break anyway. So let the court-appointed trustees operate with the same skeleton crews that the airlines will be running even if they get the bailout. The level of customer service and employment will be essentially the same in either case.
More importantly, let the gamblers and so-called investors who piled into these stocks get their just deserts. That is, a 100% loss on their gambling stakes because that’s all it ever was when the Big Four’s combined market cap hit $130 billion compared to just $43 billion now.
Even more importantly, let these bankrupt shareholders file class action suits against the idiots and clowns in the C-suites and on the boards of directors who made such foolish decisions in the first place. Hopefully, these cats would be legally stalked and harassed to the ends of the earth as an object lesson in the personal cost of imperiling corporate balance sheets to feather their own stock options nest.
Of course, the airlines are only the poster boy for this long overdue moment of truth. The problem is universal because today’s rotten regime of Keynesian central banking has caused the entire financial system and main street economy to become riddled with rank speculation and reckless disregard for financial discipline and prudence.
And the crime starts right in the Eccles Building where over the last several decades an inbred posse of PhDs and Washington apparatchiks have taken it upon themselves to destroy honest price discovery in the money and capital markets in the name of levitating financial asset prices and thereby fostering more growth, jobs, incomes and spending than the main street economy would allegedly produce on its own.
Self-evidently, main street didn’t need no stinkin’ help from a wanna be 12-member monetary politburo. They have created serial bubbles that have gotten more inflated with each cycle, leaving the main street economy exposed to increasingly brutal episodes of correction when the proverbial Black Swan, or Black Bat, as the case may be, makes its grim appearance.
Still, the very idea that agents of the state could have enough information and wisdom to best the work of millions of traders, investors, speculators and dealers was ridiculous from the start; and the further idea that financial assets prices falsified by the FOMC to the second decimal point could cause main street to produce more output, jobs, efficiency and real living standard gains than would be the case under market determined financial asset prices was even more ludicrous.
Self-evidently, the only thing Keynesian central bankers have accomplished has been to fuel egregious speculations in the canyons of Wall Street; drain main street businesses of real productive investment; and leave businesses and households living hand-to-mouth and therefore vulnerable to even short-run interruptions of cash flow.
So we will say it again: Hand-to-mouth economics is not the natural modality on the free market; it is a malignant product of bad money and the debt-fueled speculative manias that are the consequence of Keynesian central banking.
Left to their own devices on the free market, households save and provide for rainy days, regardless of income level or social status.
Likewise, in a world not poisoned by cheap debt and falsified costs of capital, businesses nurture their balance sheets and provide for cash flow interruptions either by buying insurance or setting aside liquid reserves and equity capital based shock absorbers.
That’s the real message of this – the second great financial heart attack of the last decade. But rather than allowing the rot to be purged, the central bankers are now out pouring kerosene on the fires.
That is, insisting upon even greater central bank intrusion in the financial markets and even more egregious falsification of the prices of money, debt and every manner of risk assets. In effect, they are advocating the complete euthanasia of market prices in the financial system in favor of their own administered price folly.
At some point the very chutzpah of it gets downright maddening. We are referring to this morning’s missive in the FT from the Boobsie Twins, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen, who were major architects of the disaster now underway. The Great Deformation:... David A. Stockman Best Price: $2.00 Buy New $9.95 (as of 09:55 UTC - Details)
Yet they now want the Fed to have expanded powers to buy corporate debt and who knows what else:
The Fed could ask Congress for the authority to buy limited amounts of investment-grade corporate debt. Most central banks already have this power, and the European Central Bank and the Bank of England regularly use it. The Fed’s intervention could help restart that part of the corporate debt market, which is under significant stress. Such a programme would have to be carefully calibrated to minimise the credit risk taken by the Fed while still providing needed liquidity to an essential market.
The bolded part is a risible lie. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the corporate debt market that even a modicum of honest interest rates could not handle.
That’s evident from the price chart of the largest corporate bond ETF shown below. It is trading no lower than in previous risk-off periods including November-December 2018, January 2016, late 2013 and during the US debt ceiling crisis of August 2011.
Yes, it has plunged from the absurd levels reached during the stock markets blow-off top a few weeks ago.
But so what? At the February extreme, the implied yield on corporate debt was hardly 2.6%, and even after the price plunge of recent days the implied yield is just 3.7%.
So what in the world are the Boobsie Twins talking about? Do they really think we are stupid enough to believe that a 3.7% investment grade yield is an end of the world crisis that requires the Fed to put its Big Fat Thumb on this sector of the rates market, too, after it has already reduced sovereign debt to yield-free status?
Indeed, when you look at the real corporate debt yield after inflation it is downright minuscule at 1.35%. So these Keynesian morons want the Fed to buy massive amounts of investment grade corporate debt with fiat credits snatched from thin air because they think, apparently, that the US economy will collapse at a real yield to just 1.35% after the current running level of inflation.
So what we have here is a far more insidious reality. Namely, the reaction function of Keynesian central bankers past and present has degenerated into an Atlas Syndrome.
These cats think they have the entire $85 trillion world economy on their shoulders and that any time there is an abrupt re-pricing of the hideous financial bubbles they have inflated, they propose to throw financial sanity to the winds lest the whole financial system and economy splatter against the wall.
It won’t, of course, because re-pricing of financial assets back to quasi-sane levels is actually what is desperately needed to stop the violent boom and bust cycles that have been gaining momentum under their tutelage for three decades now.
Stated differently, if Keynesian central banks fear a 3.7% investment grade bond yield, what they actually fear is the price mechanism itself.
That’s the heart of the matter: All of the emergency facilities and new legislative authority proposals emanating from the central bankers and their Wall Street acolytes and shills are designed to eviscerate and override the price mechanism in the financial markets.
The very absurdity and danger of that idea, however, is dramatized in spades by the juxtaposition of what happened yesterday. Presumably, the Boobsie Twins were emailing their draft FT op ed back and forth during market daylight hours.
Alas, the corporate bond market was so badly “broken” as they penned up their SOS proposal that, well, the largest amount of corporate debt deals of the year was brought to market!
That’s right. About $28 billion of new deals were priced yesterday, of which $10 billion were was 20+ years.
Duh. If that’s “broken”, we truly do not understand what financial planet these Keynesian central bankers actually inhabit.
On the other hand, we know full well where drastic and sustained repression of bond yields have already led.
To wit, to a massive scramble for yield among money managers, which in turn has fueled the outbreak of epic-scale financial engineering in the C-suites. That’s because they could sell ultra-cheap debt for any cockamamie purpose that pleased Wall Street, including idiotic empire-building through M&A and the depletion of corporate cash reserves and debt capacity in order to fund massive stock buybacks and other balance sheet impairments.
Indeed, from the point of view of the central banker Atlas Syndrome, financial price repression is the gift that keeps on giving. Having dissipated their balance sheet liquidity on financial engineering, corporations now allegedly are facing a liquidity squeeze owing to the COVID-19 supply-side shocks.
So without missing a beat, the Fed was out with a resurrection of the emergency commercial paper funding facility that was used during the 2008 crisis to rescue con men like General Electric’s Jeff Immelt, who had loaded his $600 billion balance sheet with upwards of $200 million of cheap commercial paper.
As explained below, that particular facility ended up so malodorous even in the eyes of the fools who populate Capitol Hill that they forbade the Fed from using it in the future without the permission of the Secretary of the Treasury.
Little did they anticipate, of course, that during the next financial meltdown the office would be occupied by the greatest flunky to ever hold the post, and that his real job as the Donald’s campaign finance chairman would be to tap the public till for whatever it would take to insure his re-election.
So now that Secy Mnuchin has green-flagged this abomination, just recall briefly what happened last time around.
Back then the alleged titan of corporate America didn’t cotton to the idea of paying 5% or 7% or even 10% to rollover his short-term funding, least the hit to earnings would have monkey-hammered his 2008 bonus and the value of his massive stock options.
So Immelt went running to his Goldman Sachs benefactor, Hank Paulson, who soon persuaded Bernanke to open up a window at the Fed under its emergency section 13-3 authority.
That action guaranteed virtually unlimited commercial paper funding at the Fed window’s ultra-cheap rates so as not to disturb the year end bonuses of Immelt or hundreds of other CEOs who had put their companies in harm’s way be over-reliance on cheap short-term funding.
As it happened, the commercial paper bailout didn’t help GE anyway, as perhaps indicated by the shrinkage of its market cap from $500 billion at the peak to $55 billion a present.
But more importantly, there was absolutely no shortage of cash available to GE when Immelt pulled his crony capitalist raid 12 years ago. What it needed to do was fill the approximate $30 billion hole in its balance sheet by raising long-term debt, preferred stock or even common stock. Trumped! A Nation on t... David A. Stockman Best Price: $2.05 Buy New $9.50 (as of 06:30 UTC - Details)
Yet, the mere statement of the obvious underscores the entire scam behind the Fed’s intrusions into the money and capital markets with these so-called emergency facilities. To wit, they have nothing to do with insuring the companies have the cash to meet their payrolls or pay other bills as is so mendaciously claimed by Wall Street and the Eccles Building.
No, it’s about keeping the cost of capital ultra low and minimizing the hit to earnings that might result from tapping higher cost capital markets, which are still wide-open at a higher yield per yesterday’s massive pricing of new corporate debt issues.
In more unvarnished terms, the only real function of this massive new commercial paper facility, which the Fed has stood up practically overnight, is protection of corporate earnings, CEO bonuses and stock options and the remaining winnings of Wall Street gamblers.
The chart below highlights the massive lie behind this new facility. The ostensible reason was that commercial paper yields spiked in the last few days from practically nothing to hardly much more.
In the case of AA rated three-month nonfinancial commercial paper, the yield rose from 0.86% on March 10 to 1.34% Monday afternoon.
But so f*cking what!
Back on February 27 when the stock market was just off its all-time highs, and when Powell was claiming the US economy was in a “good place “and the Donald was ballyhooing the Greatest Economy Ever the yield on this prime 90 day paper was actually higher at 1.56%!
Think about that one. In less than three weeks the Fed has panicked into resurrecting the Jeff Immelt Memorial Scam with commercial paper rates so low as to make a mockery of the notion of a shock or a malfunction in the plumbing.
Still, the dutiful shills of the Wall Street Journal cut and pasted the Fed’s press release to this effect:
To ease escalating strains in credit markets. Turmoil escalated in commercial paper in recent days, sending the cost of borrowing for companies sharply higher, in some cases above the cost of selling 30-year bonds. Investors including money-market funds have sold commercial paper, saddling dealers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. with more inventory at a time when they could least accommodate it….
Oh, pulease!
Here is the 20 year history of the AA rated three month nonfinancial commercial paper yield. Self-evidently, a 1.34% interest rate is not going to break the American economy, nor would 2.00% or 4.00% or even 6.00%.
Indeed, if the market were allowed to clear at those levels the only “shock” which would trouble Wall Street would be the plunging stock prices which might result from companies having to pay a market rate of interest or issue dilutive amounts of common stock or long-term debt.
As we said, SO WHAT!
PEAK TRUMP, IMPENDING CRISES, ESSENTIAL INFO & ACTION
Reprinted with permission from David Stockman’s Contra Corner.
The Best of David Stockman


lewrockwell--2020-03-21--Payback By Mother Earth?

Payback By Mother Earth?

` He who seeks to defend everything , defends nothing.
’ King Frederick the Great of Prussia .
This is one of the most important maxims of military history .
Every young officer should have it drilled into his head .
Yet the confused administration of President Donald Trump has been doing just this as it fights an invisible foe no one expected .
Trump , who dodged US military service using phony doctor certificated about his feet , now shamelessly styles himself ‘ a war president.
’ This new affectation mirrors Trump ’ s well-known love of ostentatious displays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When draft-dodgers grow old , they often become flaming warmongers and carriers of the big stick .
Fox-TV watching older American men replaced their long faded sexual prowess with calls for martial action by…..the young , of course .
American Raj : Liberati ... Eric Margolis Best Price : $ 4.99 Buy New $ 10.00 Now , as the coronavirus spreads , our self-proclaimed ‘ War Leader ’ has drawn his sword to defend endangered America .
But Trump can ’ t decide if he is waging war against a vicious virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two weeks of the epidemic he dismissed it as a ‘ hoax ’ spread by lefties .
It was surprising the Clinton Democrats did not claim the plague was started by Moscow .
When the light of reality put an end to Trump ’ s Panglossian cheer , the president assumed the costume of doctor in chief and began warning that the ’ Wuhan ’ virus was very dangerous and likely introduced by foreigners ( read Muslims , Chinese and Mexicans ) .
If only his wall had been built .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The factual version shows Trump & Co was so busy provoking Iran into an air war , politicking in Washington and studying polls of Midwestern evangelical voters that they totally missed the advent of the coronavirus , even though they had plenty of time to see the onrush of this viral tsunami .
In the military , we used to call it ‘ asleep on guard duty ’ – just like Bush , Cheney and Rumsfeld on 9/11 .
The mighty , all-powerful US had plenty of 500 lb and 1,000 lb bombs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ napalm and 20mm shells for Afghanistan , Pakistan , Iraq , Yemen , Somalia , West Africa , and other unfortunate targets , and supplies to stock over 800 military bases around the globe , but not enough ventilators , respirators , face masks or even beds to accommodate the flood of sick Americans .
[ War at the Top of th ... Eric S Margolis Check Amazon for Pricing .
As the great Frederick said , one can not defend against everything or every eventuality .
But a strategic surge capability for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are emergency supplies of essential items .
The US is not Romania .
We are spending $ 1 trillion on our military this year when all departments are included .
Tell me they can ’ t afford backup face masks or ventilators ?
Supposed there was a chemical/biological attack on the US ?
What would we do ?
Use torn up pieces of the NY Daily News as gas masks ?
This is what people did in Europe for toilet paper in the threadbare 1950 ’ s .
Maybe we will do it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a political problem , alternately dismissing it or claiming decisive action .
Proper government action was delayed for weeks by Trump calling the virus a ‘ hoax.
’ A nation that could produce an entire Liberty ship during World War II in 24 hours was left telling frontline nurses to wear scarves around their mouths because there were no stocks left of N95 facemasks , respirators or gowns .
It was easier for the Italians .
They have Europe ’ s oldest population .
So they just let their elderly sick die @ @ @ @ @ @ @ robust patients .
The Pope has remained out of sight with what are termed ‘ sniffles ’ .
He may well have the virus as do many who mixed with crowds .
A penitent China is now shipping masks to Italy .
In his usual regal style , Trump has been taking responsibility for every aspect of the virus epidemic .
That ’ s dangerous , because he could end up being blamed for some of this disaster ’ s health and economic damage .
A much better example is California ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has managed this crisis with skill and aplomb .
He could very well run for president in the next election .
Some environmentalists will even suspect that the current plague is the planet ’ s payback against Trump and his flat earth Republicans for their devastation of our wildlife , forests and waters .
The Best of Eric S. Margolis

Special for LewRockwell.com
`He who seeks to defend everything, defends nothing.’
King Frederick the Great of Prussia.
This is one of the most important maxims of military history. Every young officer should have it drilled into his head.
Yet the confused administration of President Donald Trump has been doing just this as it fights an invisible foe no one expected. Trump, who dodged US military service using phony doctor certificated about his feet, now shamelessly styles himself ‘a war president.’
This new affectation mirrors Trump’s well-known love of ostentatious displays, military parades, and bombastic talk. When draft-dodgers grow old, they often become flaming warmongers and carriers of the big stick. Fox-TV watching older American men replaced their long faded sexual prowess with calls for martial action by…..the young, of course. American Raj: Liberati... Eric Margolis Best Price: $4.99 Buy New $10.00 (as of 05:35 UTC - Details)
Now, as the coronavirus spreads, our self-proclaimed ‘War Leader’ has drawn his sword to defend endangered America. But Trump can’t decide if he is waging war against a vicious virus or fear itself. For the first two weeks of the epidemic he dismissed it as a ‘hoax’ spread by lefties. It was surprising the Clinton Democrats did not claim the plague was started by Moscow.
When the light of reality put an end to Trump’s Panglossian cheer, the president assumed the costume of doctor in chief and began warning that the ’Wuhan’ virus was very dangerous and likely introduced by foreigners (read Muslims, Chinese and Mexicans). If only his wall had been built.
That’s Trump’s happy story. The factual version shows Trump & Co was so busy provoking Iran into an air war, politicking in Washington and studying polls of Midwestern evangelical voters that they totally missed the advent of the coronavirus, even though they had plenty of time to see the onrush of this viral tsunami.
In the military, we used to call it ‘asleep on guard duty’ – just like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld on 9/11.
The mighty, all-powerful US had plenty of 500 lb and 1,000 lb bombs, fuses, fuel air explosives, napalm and 20mm shells for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, West Africa, and other unfortunate targets, and supplies to stock over 800 military bases around the globe, but not enough ventilators, respirators, face masks or even beds to accommodate the flood of sick Americans. [ War at the Top of th... Eric S Margolis Check Amazon for Pricing.
As the great Frederick said, one cannot defend against everything or every eventuality. But a strategic surge capability for such life-and-death materials is essential. So are emergency supplies of essential items.
The US is not Romania. We are spending $1 trillion on our military this year when all departments are included. Tell me they can’t afford backup face masks or ventilators? Supposed there was a chemical/biological attack on the US? What would we do? Use torn up pieces of the NY Daily News as gas masks? This is what people did in Europe for toilet paper in the threadbare 1950’s. Maybe we will do it again.
Trump treated this virus attack as a political problem, alternately dismissing it or claiming decisive action. Proper government action was delayed for weeks by Trump calling the virus a ‘hoax.’
A nation that could produce an entire Liberty ship during World War II in 24 hours was left telling frontline nurses to wear scarves around their mouths because there were no stocks left of N95 facemasks, respirators or gowns.
It was easier for the Italians. They have Europe’s oldest population. So they just let their elderly sick die off in favor of younger, more robust patients. The Pope has remained out of sight with what are termed ‘sniffles’. He may well have the virus as do many who mixed with crowds. A penitent China is now shipping masks to Italy.
In his usual regal style, Trump has been taking responsibility for every aspect of the virus epidemic. That’s dangerous, because he could end up being blamed for some of this disaster’s health and economic damage. A much better example is California’s cool, competent governor, Gavin Newsom who has managed this crisis with skill and aplomb. He could very well run for president in the next election.
Some environmentalists will even suspect that the current plague is the planet’s payback against Trump and his flat earth Republicans for their devastation of our wildlife, forests and waters.
Mother Nature’s revenge.
The Best of Eric S. Margolis


lewrockwell--2020-03-21--This Is Madness, and You Will Now Be Required to Build Your Own Prisons!

“ I admit that I myself am far from having a complete command of every topic I touch on , but my knowledge of my subject is always greater than the interest or the understanding of my auditors .
You see , there is one very good thing about mankind ; the mediocre masses make very few demands of the mediocrities of a higher order , submitting stupidly and cheerfully to their guidance ” ~ Alfred de Vigny , Stello The newest pandemic to strike America , and the rest of the world as well , is a disease with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stupidity.
” I have not in my lifetime seen this much ignorance displayed by so many all at the same time .
Something so normal as a minor flu has stilled the earth , and has caused almost all of humanity to be consumed by fear and a total lack of logical thought .
It is even worse than I present here , as people are going against each other , monitoring their neighbors for the state , hiding in their homes as ordered , closing their businesses , voluntarily leaving their jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a government that is pretending to be God on high .
As of this writing , a little over 10,000 people have supposedly died from this so-called coronavirus , and that number is most likely much overstated .
All this as 300,000 to 700,000 will die worldwide this year from the common flu .
This is no pandemic ; it is madness .
Why are so many so blind ?
MedPride Powder-Free N ... Buy New $ 13.22 ( $ 0.13 / Count ) There are so many totalitarian agendas being met @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ruling elite to accomplish , as the entirety of the population is making it easy for the government to turn this country into an authoritarian cesspool .
What is ahead is rule by the few over a weak and mindless proletariat .
If the real criminals were as easy to round up and control as the collective society of America , there would be no crime .
Instead , the criminals will remain in power , while the rest of this pathetic populace will house in their own prisons .
Propaganda at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this moment in time will go down as the most absurd and fantastical idiocy in the history of man .
All should fear for their very lives , but not due to any fake virus or pandemic , but because they have submitted to an absurdity beyond the imagination of the sane .
Apparently , the world we have known is over , and the new world order that will replace it will be one of total control .
This is not science fiction ; it is now reality .
There is no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged new virus is real or fake , but what is certain is that people worldwide have accepted the hype , and are panicking to an extent that is sheer lunacy .
The most likely and most plausible cause of this virus is that this flu strain , regardless that it is not what is being projected , was created in a lab , and if that is accurate , then this entire takeover of the world economy was purposely planned far in advance .
This is how the ruling elite and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only new aspect of this is the severity of the propaganda , and the ludicrous lack of response to those lies by the common collective hordes of sleeplike drones .
The economy as it has existed is finished , and a new system will be forthcoming .
Cash will have to be eliminated , whether it be due to a false threat of contagion or not , but a new fully controlled system will be implemented over time , and it will be digitally controlled .
This will allow for the monetary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into compliance with all state rules and restrictions , because all access to life-sustaining needs will be subject to behavior and credit scores .
This system that is coming is one that relies on a central grid controlled by a hidden governing body beholding to the master planners .
This is called technocracy , and given that this coup is successful , it will in time become the norm .
Caxinthy 50 PCS Dispos ... Buy New $ 16.99 ( $ 0.34 / Count ) Resistance will most likely be absent , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mainly because once this economy is purged , and the financial collapse is complete , the destruction of current savings will be evident .
This leaves most everyone vulnerable and dependent on government , just as is planned .
Without freedom of movement , productive jobs , food , staples , and without wealth , little will remain for the lowly citizen other than to comply with state mandates in order to survive .
Trump , the dictator puppet in charge , has the power to ground all flights , to halt all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could order all to stay in their homes by force of law .
This would be nothing less than planned totalitarian rule by fiat , and would cause the end of many lives , and forever alter the lives of all remaining .
Any left standing would be subject to martial law .
This is not only possible , but could be coming soon .
This is what the “ American people ” have allowed by their apathetic behavior and indifference , and by their selfish desire for undeserved and unattainable equality .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be an empty existence , and all will be equal , as all will be slaves .
This is really happening , and is not temporary , but will be the new normal if a total revolt by the masses is not forthcoming .
Be prepared for the worst mankind can dish out , because what will come of this is pure hell !
The Best of Gary D. Barnett

“I admit that I myself am far from having a complete command of every topic I touch on, but my knowledge of my subject is always greater than the interest or the understanding of my auditors. You see, there is one very good thing about mankind; the mediocre masses make very few demands of the mediocrities of a higher order, submitting stupidly and cheerfully to their guidance” ~ Alfred de Vigny, Stello
The newest pandemic to strike America, and the rest of the world as well, is a disease with many strains of the gene called “stupidity.” I have not in my lifetime seen this much ignorance displayed by so many all at the same time. Something so normal as a minor flu has stilled the earth, and has caused almost all of humanity to be consumed by fear and a total lack of logical thought. It is even worse than I present here, as people are going against each other, monitoring their neighbors for the state, hiding in their homes as ordered, closing their businesses, voluntarily leaving their jobs, and cowering to the false authority of a government that is pretending to be God on high.
As of this writing, a little over 10,000 people have supposedly died from this so-called coronavirus, and that number is most likely much overstated. All this as 300,000 to 700,000 will die worldwide this year from the common flu. This is no pandemic; it is madness. Why are so many so blind? MedPride Powder-Free N... Buy New $13.22 ($0.13 / Count) (as of 12:02 UTC - Details)
There are so many totalitarian agendas being met, that little will be left for the ruling elite to accomplish, as the entirety of the population is making it easy for the government to turn this country into an authoritarian cesspool. What is ahead is rule by the few over a weak and mindless proletariat. If the real criminals were as easy to round up and control as the collective society of America, there would be no crime. Instead, the criminals will remain in power, while the rest of this pathetic populace will house in their own prisons.
Propaganda at this level is unheard of, and this moment in time will go down as the most absurd and fantastical idiocy in the history of man. All should fear for their very lives, but not due to any fake virus or pandemic, but because they have submitted to an absurdity beyond the imagination of the sane. Apparently, the world we have known is over, and the new world order that will replace it will be one of total control. This is not science fiction; it is now reality.
There is no way to know for sure if this alleged new virus is real or fake, but what is certain is that people worldwide have accepted the hype, and are panicking to an extent that is sheer lunacy. The most likely and most plausible cause of this virus is that this flu strain, regardless that it is not what is being projected, was created in a lab, and if that is accurate, then this entire takeover of the world economy was purposely planned far in advance. This is how the ruling elite and their pawns in government do things, and the only new aspect of this is the severity of the propaganda, and the ludicrous lack of response to those lies by the common collective hordes of sleeplike drones.
The economy as it has existed is finished, and a new system will be forthcoming. Cash will have to be eliminated, whether it be due to a false threat of contagion or not, but a new fully controlled system will be implemented over time, and it will be digitally controlled. This will allow for the monetary system to be used to force people into compliance with all state rules and restrictions, because all access to life-sustaining needs will be subject to behavior and credit scores. This system that is coming is one that relies on a central grid controlled by a hidden governing body beholding to the master planners. This is called technocracy, and given that this coup is successful, it will in time become the norm. Caxinthy 50 PCS Dispos... Buy New $16.99 ($0.34 / Count) (as of 11:56 UTC - Details)
Resistance will most likely be absent, just as it has been so far, mainly because once this economy is purged, and the financial collapse is complete, the destruction of current savings will be evident. This leaves most everyone vulnerable and dependent on government, just as is planned. Without freedom of movement, productive jobs, food, staples, and without wealth, little will remain for the lowly citizen other than to comply with state mandates in order to survive.
Trump, the dictator puppet in charge, has the power to ground all flights, to halt all stock trading for markets, and also could order all to stay in their homes by force of law. This would be nothing less than planned totalitarian rule by fiat, and would cause the end of many lives, and forever alter the lives of all remaining. Any left standing would be subject to martial law. This is not only possible, but could be coming soon.
This is what the “American people” have allowed by their apathetic behavior and indifference, and by their selfish desire for undeserved and unattainable equality. What will be left after this takeover will be an empty existence, and all will be equal, as all will be slaves. This is really happening, and is not temporary, but will be the new normal if a total revolt by the masses is not forthcoming. Be prepared for the worst mankind can dish out, because what will come of this is pure hell!
The Best of Gary D. Barnett


Coronavirus Hysteria

These are interesting times in which we live .
The mass hysteria over COVID-19 , “ The Coronavirus , ” supplies the remotely thoughtful with much food for thought .
In a following series of articles , I will unpack the many implications of the mass panic .
Before doing so , though , we must first establish one fundamental fact : This is indeed a mass panic .
“ The Coronavirus ” is , in reality , but the latest discovered variant of a family of corona viruses that are located in all acute respiratory diseases .
As Wolfgang @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his own health department with a system for monitoring flu diseases among people within an area of some 150,000 inhabitants—informs us , coronaviruses constitute anywhere up to 15 % of respiratory diseases .
“ Hence , ” Dr. Wodarg says , “ it ’ s just normal that a big part of viruses are coronaviruses.
” Dukal DUK 900610 Refle ... Buy New $ 17.50 So as to gain the much needed context of which Big Government and Big Media are all too ready to deprive us , it is worth quoting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looking for a specific virus , for example , the coronavirus , you can examine the total population .
What you will find is that presumably around 8 % or 10 % of the population will have some kind of virus that makes them sick .
But if you examine medical practices , do your tests there , to determine who is sick , then of course you would find a lot more positive cases .
And if you examine hospitals and take samples there , then you would find even more corona-infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , makes all of the difference as to the confirmed cases of a virus .
Yet , “ depending on which proportions of the population you examine—whether it is the whole population , patients in the waiting room , people in a clinic , or when you examine very ill patients in the intensive care unit that are about to die—you will expectedly find these 7 % -15 % coronaviruses every time you do a test.
” “ However , ” Wudarg adds , whether these patients die of the coronavirus itself or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus , this is not something that can be determined with surety ( italics added ) .
“ So when you look at the death rates in Italy , you want to know where the tests have been taken .
Where and how have these few available tests been used ?
If they were used in a hospital on serious or terminally ill cases , then obviously the corona death rate rises.
” Although this context is crucial , Big Media fails to provide it .
John Ioannidis is a Stanford University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of medicine , of epidemiology and population health , of biomedical data science , and of statistics .
He is also a co-director of Stanford ’ s Meta-Research Innovation Center .
In a recent op-ed , he warns against the “ once-in-a-century evidence fiasco ” that is the mass hysteria ensuing upon the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ The data collected so far on how many people are infected and how the epidemic is evolving are utterly unreliable , ” Professor Ioannidis remarks .
Considering “ the limited testing to date , ” it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failing to capture infections by a factor of three or 300.
” “ Three months after the outbreak emerged , most countries , including the U.S. , lack the ability to test a large number of people and no countries have reliable data on the prevalence of the virus in a representative random sample of the general population.
” What this in turn means is that the global fatality rate of 3.4 % relayed by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) , while it “ cause [ s ] horror , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The answer is that those who have tested for COVID-19 are “ disproportionately those with severe symptoms and bad outcomes.
” Professor Ioannidis adds : “ As most health systems have limited testing capacity , selection bias may even worsen in the future ” [ for given the inherent scarcity of resources in the way of testing and , hence , the need to test selectively—i.e .
to test only those who are displaying symptoms of sickness and who seek treatment—the numbers diagnosed may become that much more skewed ] .
But there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does not mention , that accounts for why the WHO ’ s reported fatality rate is not only meaningless , but even deceptive .
As Ben Swann astutely observes , the WHO figure of 3.4 % is a rough average between two other figures : the reported mortality rate of 2 % of COVID-19 in the United States , and its 4 % mortality rate throughout the world .
Following its release of this number , the WHO announced that “ the Coronavirus ” is much deadlier than the seasonal flu , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only .1 % .
The American media has proven all too eager to uncritically accept this declaration—issued , after all , by the Experts at the World Health Organization—and share it with the world .
There ’ s just one little problem with it : It ’ s not in the least bit accurate .
The flu ’ s mortality rate of .1 % is accurate only if it is based on the number of estimated cases .
Because the WHO calibrates the mortality rate for COVID-19 solely on the basis of confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supply an estimated number of undiagnosed or suspected cases of this coronavirus—it is significantly higher than that of the flu .
Yet if the Experts at the WHO ( and the sock puppets in the American media ) were interested in just the most rudimentary analogical reasoning , they would have figured out this comparison is worthless because the two things being compared are incomparable .
Now , when the mortality rate of the seasonal flu is grounded in confirmed cases , then its .1 % mortality rate jumps to 10 % !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the thing that has brought the whole world to a grinding halt .
Dr. Paul Offit , a pediatrician and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children ’ s Hospital of Philadelphia , is an expert on vaccines , immunology , and virology .
He is also the co-inventor of rotavirus vaccine which is recommended for universal use by the Centers for Disease and Prevention Control ( CDC ) .
Dr. Offit recently said , what I ’ ve been at pains to show here , that “ the fear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the virus itself.
” COVID-19 may be only marginally more dangerous than the Swine flu of 2009 , if it ’ s more dangerous at all .
At any rate , it ’ s not even close to being deadlier than the seasonal flu .
“ I wish that every week they put up the number of deaths from influenza and the number of deaths from COVID-19 ; we would realize that influenza is far worse.
” He elaborates : “ This year , in the United States , there were between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We had between 20,000 and 45,000 deaths .
Of those , 154 occurred in children .
In the last two months since COVID-19 has been in the United States , 20 children have died from influenza ; no children have died from COVID-19.
” Offit continues , noting that even though the flu is “ far worse ” than COVID-19 , “ we do not quarantine and we do not cancel meetings for shut down schools , churches , and synagogues from influenza.
” The good doctor expresses his perplexity : “ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If these two viruses are likely to cause infection and disease , why are we treating one different from the other ?
” “ The problem with coronavirus , ” Dr. Offit asserts , “ is that people think they are more likely to die if they get it.
” “ I think all the evidence says that is not true.
” As of the time of this writing , March 18 , 2020 , the John Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering ( CSSE ) , which tracks the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , informs those who would consult it that there are 204,251 confirmed cases of the virus now .
Of these , 8,246 people have died , and 82,091 have recovered .
None of this is a good thing , obviously , but it ’ s critical to keep perspective : On a planet of 7 billion human beings , a tiny fraction of a percent of people , .00291787 % , have contracted this thing .
And of that number , officially , about 4 % have died .
The real mortality rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out the disease and don ’ t get tested , for in the vast majority of cases , symptoms are mild .
There are unquestionably many unconfirmed cases .
In case this isn ’ t clear , to reiterate , the vast majority of people , particularly those who aren ’ t already high-risk—the elderly , those with preexisting pulmonary-related conditions and otherwise compromised immune systems—who contract this coronavirus have mild symptoms and recover .
In other words , especially if one is the inhabitant of an advanced Western country like the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus—and this is a big if—it is not an automatic death sentence .
Quite the contrary , in fact .
It is overwhelmingly likely that , just as is the case when your average person gets the seasonal flu , one will make a full recovery .
For the sake of perspective : Between October 2019 and the end of February 2020 , approximately 45 million Americans contracted the flu .
There were 560 hospitalizations .
And 46,000 Americans died from it .
In 2018 , according to the Centers for Disease Control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million Americans contracted the flu .
About 960,000 were hospitalized .
Consider , the number of Americans to have died from the flu in just one flu season is about ten times the number of all Earthlings to have died from the latest coronavirus .
The number of Americans to have died from the flu since 2018 to the present is about 20 times greater than that of all human beings to have died from the latest coronavirus .
MedPride Powder-Free N ... Buy New $ 13.22 ( $ 0.13 / Count ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have contracted and die from COVID-19 with the number of Americans to have contracted and die from the flu , the gap becomes that much starker .
As of March 18 , in the United States there were currently 6519 confirmed cases of coronavirus .
Of those who have contracted it , 115 have died .
So , let ’ s break this down : In a country of about 330 million people , .0002 % of the population has officially contracted COVID-19 .
And of this number , less than 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate is surely appreciably lower than this .
In China , from which the virus originated and where the majority of all of the world ’ s cases remain , a study of 45,000 confirmed infections revealed that in a whopping 81 % of instances , the virus “ caused only minor illness , ” with 14 % of patients displaying symptoms “ described as ‘ severe , ’ and just 5 % ” identified as “ ‘ critical.
’ ” Think about this : Because in the vast majority of instances carriers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they ride out and from which they recover , there are many more undiagnosed cases .
Thus , an even smaller percentage of patients than the official 1.66 % who have officially died from COVID-19 actually die from it .
Considering that this world is and has always been disease-ridden , basic precautionary measures like washing one ’ s hands , covering one ’ s nose and mouth while sneezing and coughing , etc .
are always sensible ( even if we never heard of “ The Coronavirus ” ) .
Yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set of responses over and above this amounts to hysteria .
The Best of Jack Kerwick

These are interesting times in which we live.
The mass hysteria over COVID-19, “The Coronavirus,” supplies the remotely thoughtful with much food for thought.
In a following series of articles, I will unpack the many implications of the mass panic.
Before doing so, though, we must first establish one fundamental fact:
This is indeed a mass panic.
“The Coronavirus” is, in reality, but the latest discovered variant of a family of corona viruses that are located in all acute respiratory diseases. As Wolfgang Wodarg—a German medical doctor who once ran his own health department with a system for monitoring flu diseases among people within an area of some 150,000 inhabitants—informs us, coronaviruses constitute anywhere up to 15% of respiratory diseases. “Hence,” Dr. Wodarg says, “it’s just normal that a big part of viruses are coronaviruses.” Dukal DUK 900610 Refle... Buy New $17.50 (as of 12:02 UTC - Details)
So as to gain the much needed context of which Big Government and Big Media are all too ready to deprive us, it is worth quoting the doctor at length:
“So while looking for a specific virus, for example, the coronavirus, you can examine the total population. What you will find is that presumably around 8% or 10% of the population will have some kind of virus that makes them sick. But if you examine medical practices, do your tests there, to determine who is sick, then of course you would find a lot more positive cases. And if you examine hospitals and take samples there, then you would find even more corona-infected people.”
Context, in other words, makes all of the difference as to the confirmed cases of a virus.
Yet, “depending on which proportions of the population you examine—whether it is the whole population, patients in the waiting room, people in a clinic, or when you examine very ill patients in the intensive care unit that are about to die—you will expectedly find these 7%-15% coronaviruses every time you do a test.”
“However,” Wudarg adds, whether these patients die of the coronavirus itself or of other viruses that are accompanied by the coronavirus, this is not something that can be determined with surety (italics added).
He ties it altogether:
“So when you look at the death rates in Italy, you want to know where the tests have been taken. Where and how have these few available tests been used? If they were used in a hospital on serious or terminally ill cases, then obviously the corona death rate rises.”
Although this context is crucial, Big Media fails to provide it.
John Ioannidis is a Stanford University faculty member. He is a professor of medicine, of epidemiology and population health, of biomedical data science, and of statistics. He is also a co-director of Stanford’s Meta-Research Innovation Center. In a recent op-ed, he warns against the “once-in-a-century evidence fiasco” that is the mass hysteria ensuing upon the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The data collected so far on how many people are infected and how the epidemic is evolving are utterly unreliable,” Professor Ioannidis remarks. Considering “the limited testing to date,” it’s unknown whether “we are failing to capture infections by a factor of three or 300.”
He continues:
“Three months after the outbreak emerged, most countries, including the U.S., lack the ability to test a large number of people and no countries have reliable data on the prevalence of the virus in a representative random sample of the general population.”
What this in turn means is that the global fatality rate of 3.4% relayed by the World Health Organization (WHO), while it “cause[s] horror,” is utterly “meaningless.”
Why? The answer is that those who have tested for COVID-19 are “disproportionately those with severe symptoms and bad outcomes.”
Professor Ioannidis adds: “As most health systems have limited testing capacity, selection bias may even worsen in the future” [for given the inherent scarcity of resources in the way of testing and, hence, the need to test selectively—i.e. to test only those who are displaying symptoms of sickness and who seek treatment—the numbers diagnosed may become that much more skewed].
But there is another reason, one that Ioannidis does not mention, that accounts for why the WHO’s reported fatality rate is not only meaningless, but even deceptive. As Ben Swann astutely observes, the WHO figure of 3.4% is a rough average between two other figures: the reported mortality rate of 2% of COVID-19 in the United States, and its 4% mortality rate throughout the world. Following its release of this number, the WHO announced that “the Coronavirus” is much deadlier than the seasonal flu, for the mortality rate of the latter is only .1%.
The American media has proven all too eager to uncritically accept this declaration—issued, after all, by the Experts at the World Health Organization—and share it with the world.
There’s just one little problem with it: It’s not in the least bit accurate.
The flu’s mortality rate of .1% is accurate only if it is based on the number of estimated cases. Because the WHO calibrates the mortality rate for COVID-19 solely on the basis of confirmed cases—it doesn’t even try to supply an estimated number of undiagnosed or suspected cases of this coronavirus—it is significantly higher than that of the flu.
Yet if the Experts at the WHO (and the sock puppets in the American media) were interested in just the most rudimentary analogical reasoning, they would have figured out this comparison is worthless because the two things being compared are incomparable. Now, when the mortality rate of the seasonal flu is grounded in confirmed cases, then its .1% mortality rate jumps to 10%! This makes it vastly more deadly than the thing that has brought the whole world to a grinding halt.
Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology. He is also the co-inventor of rotavirus vaccine which is recommended for universal use by the Centers for Disease and Prevention Control (CDC).
Dr. Offit recently said, what I’ve been at pains to show here, that “the fear of the virus is a bigger problem than the virus itself.” COVID-19 may be only marginally more dangerous than the Swine flu of 2009, if it’s more dangerous at all. At any rate, it’s not even close to being deadlier than the seasonal flu.
“I wish that every week they put up the number of deaths from influenza and the number of deaths from COVID-19; we would realize that influenza is far worse.” He elaborates:
“This year, in the United States, there were between 300,000 and 500,000 hospitalizations from influenza. We had between 20,000 and 45,000 deaths. Of those, 154 occurred in children.
In the last two months since COVID-19 has been in the United States, 20 children have died from influenza; no children have died from COVID-19.”
Offit continues, noting that even though the flu is “far worse” than COVID-19, “we do not quarantine and we do not cancel meetings for shut down schools, churches, and synagogues from influenza.” The good doctor expresses his perplexity: “I do not understand what the difference is. If these two viruses are likely to cause infection and disease, why are we treating one different from the other?”
Good question.
“The problem with coronavirus,” Dr. Offit asserts, “is that people think they are more likely to die if they get it.”
Offit’s verdict?
“I think all the evidence says that is not true.”
As of the time of this writing, March 18, 2020, the John Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE), which tracks the spread of this virus all over the globe, informs those who would consult it that there are 204,251 confirmed cases of the virus now. Of these, 8,246 people have died, and 82,091 have recovered.
None of this is a good thing, obviously, but it’s critical to keep perspective: On a planet of 7 billion human beings, a tiny fraction of a percent of people, .00291787%, have contracted this thing. And of that number, officially, about 4% have died. The real mortality rate is lower, for many people ride out the disease and don’t get tested, for in the vast majority of cases, symptoms are mild. There are unquestionably many unconfirmed cases.
In case this isn’t clear, to reiterate, the vast majority of people, particularly those who aren’t already high-risk—the elderly, those with preexisting pulmonary-related conditions and otherwise compromised immune systems—who contract this coronavirus have mild symptoms and recover.
In other words, especially if one is the inhabitant of an advanced Western country like the United States, even if one contracts the virus—and this is a big if—it is not an automatic death sentence. Quite the contrary, in fact. It is overwhelmingly likely that, just as is the case when your average person gets the seasonal flu, one will make a full recovery.
For the sake of perspective:
Between October 2019 and the end of February 2020, approximately 45 million Americans contracted the flu. There were 560,000 hospitalizations.
And 46,000 Americans died from it.
In 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 49 million Americans contracted the flu. About 960,000 were hospitalized.
More than 80,000 died.
Consider, the number of Americans to have died from the flu in just one flu season is about ten times the number of all Earthlings to have died from the latest coronavirus.
The number of Americans to have died from the flu since 2018 to the present is about 20 times greater than that of all human beings to have died from the latest coronavirus. MedPride Powder-Free N... Buy New $13.22 ($0.13 / Count) (as of 12:02 UTC - Details)
When we compare the number of Americans to have contracted and die from COVID-19 with the number of Americans to have contracted and die from the flu, the gap becomes that much starker.
As of March 18, in the United States there were currently 6519 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Of those who have contracted it, 115 have died.
So, let’s break this down:
In a country of about 330 million people, .0002% of the population has officially contracted COVID-19. And of this number, less than 2% have died.
The real mortality rate is surely appreciably lower than this.
In China, from which the virus originated and where the majority of all of the world’s cases remain, a study of 45,000 confirmed infections revealed that in a whopping 81% of instances, the virus “caused only minor illness,” with 14% of patients displaying symptoms “described as ‘severe,’ and just 5%” identified as “‘critical.’”
Think about this: Because in the vast majority of instances carriers of the virus exhibit only mild symptoms that they ride out and from which they recover, there are many more undiagnosed cases. Thus, an even smaller percentage of patients than the official 1.66% who have officially died from COVID-19 actually die from it.
Considering that this world is and has always been disease-ridden, basic precautionary measures like washing one’s hands, covering one’s nose and mouth while sneezing and coughing, etc. are always sensible (even if we never heard of “The Coronavirus”).
Yet given the facts concerning COVID-19, any set of responses over and above this amounts to hysteria.
The Best of Jack Kerwick


lewrockwell--2020-03-21--Now, We Get Local. Now the World Gets Real

In March of 2003 , we broke ground on the first real thing I ever built .
The house I currently live in .
Then I understood that there was only one way this economic and political system ended , badly .
And I knew then that I was woefully unprepared for the challenge .
When I started building my house I could barely drive a nail straight .
By the time the first part of it was finished I could lay a square of asphalt shingles with the best of them… .
if only until about 10 am or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problems of much larger scale .
I learned that building a house wasn ’ t one big task but a million little ones , some good and some , well , not so good .
My wife and I had a lot of help , to be sure .
We leveraged the skills , labor and knowledge of family and friends .
My house became a kind of community project with some weekends having as many as eight or ten people milling about like semi-competent Amish men setting trusses , digging trenches and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vir ... Best Price : $ 10.99 Buy New $ 8.19 And I ’ m forever in the debt of those who gave up their Saturday to work in the singularly horrific heat of a north central Florida summer , a place I ’ m sure Dante had in mind when he wrote about the eighth circle of Hell .
I figured then we had about five to eight years before the system would break .
During the 2008 crisis I was convinced that , ‘ This was it.
” It turned out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t quite ready to give up on the system it had built .
And we allowed the central banks to coordinate a global bailout .
But that was granted with the explicit understanding that there would be no next time or there would be hell to pay on both sides of the traditional political aisles .
Welcome to the Coronapocalypse .
Regardless of what you may think about the origins of COVID-19 , bio-weapon or not , ‘ just the flu ’ or the new plague , the reality is that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is real and the damage it has had on the global economy is real .
It doesn ’ t matter at this point in time whether the response is the right one or the wrong one .
Because in an age where perception is more important than reality and has been that way for so long , we have no real frame of reference to guide our conclusions .
Prices and costs have been distorted beyond all recognition to the saved capital they represent .
The epic meltdown of markets speaks to just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the layers of credit issued contracted .
In the end , all we have are our observations .
And those observations are intensely personal .
And most of the the time the conclusions we draw from them are wrong no matter how tightly we believe in them .
Be that as it may , we still have to make choices .
We still have to act .
And , if this is truly now a survival-like situation , one that I personally tried to prepare for nearly a generation ago , that means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have to put away the childish things we ’ ve been fighting over for the past five years politically .
How ridiculous and insipid do the identitarian fights over gender , race , sex and color look now ?
How dangerous and stupid does all that capital , that time spent look now in hindsight when today people with skills , humility and high executive function are needed .
Do you really care today if the guy behind the meat counter at your local supermarket is a MAGApede or a Bernie Bro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closet tranny ?
If you do then I suggest you stay home and reassess your priorities and your choices .
The reality is that now that the damage to the economy has been done we will need each other more than ever , regardless of what we thought about each other yesterday .
The reality is governments are grabbing for insane levels of power .
Martial Law is here in Europe .
The U.S. isn ’ t far behind if we look at how some governors and mayors have acted .
The reality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the less capable of protecting you , your family and your community it was before that .
It will view you as a threat .
It will treat you as less than human because your disobedience threatens their control .
If the Trump administration is smart it won ’ t go there .
If Trump wants to ensure the U.S. is the destination for global capital in the near term , he won ’ t go to where Europe goes .
Because the way to restore confidence in both a currency , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panic .
Lead and show competence and trust .
Those that over-react , enforce one-size-fits-all mandates become incapable of solving problems , only maintaining the current misery .
So we have to be strong enough and brave enough for commerce to flow .
If we aren ’ t then stay out of the way of healthy , low-risk people taking real risks necessary to keep the lights on , the sewers functioning and the food supply from collapsing .
Celebrate that guy behind the meat counter or restocking the shelves .
Because the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vice versa .
Yes , some people will make the wrong choice , but most won ’ t .
Stop using them as straw men to grind your political axe .
Old habits die hard but guess what ?
You ’ re not an old dog .
We ’ re moving into that dangerous area of zero tolerance which implies maximum costs for marginal net benefits .
Striking the necessary balance to keep our communities alive is how we best fight back against this threat — the government overreach or the virus itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will do good things and good people will do bad things .
It means decisions made today may need to be reversed tomorrow .
Top down order separates us from our greatest strength , our ability to try new things , solve new problems and turn what is into what will be .
It means keeping your opinions tempered , your humility high and finding ways to solve real problems that alleviate current and potential suffering .
It means realizing you don ’ t have all the answers , and pretending like you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and death .
The economy isn ’ t some big aggregate thing .
That ’ s the fundamental flaw of all dominant economic thinking , these concepts of aggregate demand and aggregate supply .
They don ’ t exist .
They aren ’ t real .
We talk about them like they are but they aren ’ t .
They are pale and unfocused reflection of trillions of small decisions taken by billions of people everyday .
And no matter how much you try to model reality by looking at the big numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see things through the densest of fog , near blind and full of hubris .
This is the central flaw in all forms of central planning , the lack of specific knowledge to come up with the right policy decisions .
That ’ s not ideology .
That is fact .
Any guess at my behavior , no matter how educated , carries with it a measurable error which when multiplied by the number of decisions I make per day and the number of people whose actions you are trying to aggregate makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempt to play god .
Even God doesn ’ t play dice with the Universe .
And the sooner we give up our grand ideas of top down control through the decisions of wise and insouciant verified smart people the sooner we can deal with the reality of the life in front of us .
Today the world is contracting , not ending .
It ’ s a smaller , tighter world than it was yesterday .
That means the closer your relationship to someone , the more valuable they are .
HS-ZGC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( $ 10.50 / Count ) The people in charge now if they are competent , if they have a shred of decency and humility , will realize by getting out of our way we can thrive .
And if they won ’ t , then we have to do the other thing humans are really good at , subverting crude attempts at control .
That ’ s not ideology folks , that ’ s who we are .
And I love people for it .
It ’ s simply giving up control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focused on what you can .
It ’ s the humility to know that I don ’ t have the answers to the problems of the world but maybe the problems don ’ t exist as I think I see them .
We ’ ve been giving a huge wake up call that what we ’ ve built is a house of cards .
You ’ ll hear a lot of cries for people to ‘ get local.
’ Use the time you have in front of you to build skills you didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be more valuable to those nearest you that may need you tomorrow .
Forge real relationships with people you never thought you could .
But most importantly , it ’ s time to stop denying that which is in front of us .
Because , try as we might , it isn ’ t going away .
The Best of Thomas Luongo

“Reality is that which when we stop believing in it doesn’t go away.” — Philip K. Dick
In March of 2003, we broke ground on the first real thing I ever built. The house I currently live in. Then I understood that there was only one way this economic and political system ended, badly.
And I knew then that I was woefully unprepared for the challenge. When I started building my house I could barely drive a nail straight. By the time the first part of it was finished I could lay a square of asphalt shingles with the best of them…. if only until about 10 am or so.
I could now solve logistical problems of much larger scale. I learned that building a house wasn’t one big task but a million little ones, some good and some, well, not so good.
My wife and I had a lot of help, to be sure. We leveraged the skills, labor and knowledge of family and friends.
My house became a kind of community project with some weekends having as many as eight or ten people milling about like semi-competent Amish men setting trusses, digging trenches and installing windows. 3M Safety Glasses, Vir... Best Price: $10.99 Buy New $8.19 (as of 11:56 UTC - Details)
And I’m forever in the debt of those who gave up their Saturday to work in the singularly horrific heat of a north central Florida summer, a place I’m sure Dante had in mind when he wrote about the eighth circle of Hell.
I figured then we had about five to eight years before the system would break. During the 2008 crisis I was convinced that, ‘This was it.” It turned out to be bad but the world wasn’t quite ready to give up on the system it had built.
And we allowed the central banks to coordinate a global bailout. But that was granted with the explicit understanding that there would be no next time or there would be hell to pay on both sides of the traditional political aisles.
Welcome to the Coronapocalypse.
Regardless of what you may think about the origins of COVID-19, bio-weapon or not, ‘just the flu’ or the new plague, the reality is that it is here. The response to it is real and the damage it has had on the global economy is real.
It doesn’t matter at this point in time whether the response is the right one or the wrong one. Because in an age where perception is more important than reality and has been that way for so long, we have no real frame of reference to guide our conclusions.
Prices and costs have been distorted beyond all recognition to the saved capital they represent. The epic meltdown of markets speaks to just how insanely overvalued the world was once the layers of credit issued contracted.
In the end, all we have are our observations. And those observations are intensely personal. And most of the the time the conclusions we draw from them are wrong no matter how tightly we believe in them.
Be that as it may, we still have to make choices. We still have to act.
And, if this is truly now a survival-like situation, one that I personally tried to prepare for nearly a generation ago, that means we have to deal with reality.
We have to put away the childish things we’ve been fighting over for the past five years politically.
How ridiculous and insipid do the identitarian fights over gender, race, sex and color look now? How dangerous and stupid does all that capital, that time spent look now in hindsight when today people with skills, humility and high executive function are needed.
Do you really care today if the guy behind the meat counter at your local supermarket is a MAGApede or a Bernie Bro, hates gay people or is a closet tranny?
If you do then I suggest you stay home and reassess your priorities and your choices.
The reality is that now that the damage to the economy has been done we will need each other more than ever, regardless of what we thought about each other yesterday.
The reality is governments are grabbing for insane levels of power. Martial Law is here in Europe. The U.S. isn’t far behind if we look at how some governors and mayors have acted.
The reality is that the more power governments grab the less capable of protecting you, your family and your community it was before that. It will view you as a threat. It will treat you as less than human because your disobedience threatens their control.
If the Trump administration is smart it won’t go there. If Trump wants to ensure the U.S. is the destination for global capital in the near term, he won’t go to where Europe goes.
Because the way to restore confidence in both a currency, a people and a government is to not panic. Lead and show competence and trust.
Those that over-react, enforce one-size-fits-all mandates become incapable of solving problems, only maintaining the current misery.
So we have to be strong enough and brave enough for commerce to flow. If we aren’t then stay out of the way of healthy, low-risk people taking real risks necessary to keep the lights on, the sewers functioning and the food supply from collapsing.
Celebrate that guy behind the meat counter or restocking the shelves. Because the life he saves may be yours and vice versa.
Yes, some people will make the wrong choice, but most won’t. Stop using them as straw men to grind your political axe. Old habits die hard but guess what? You’re not an old dog.
We’re moving into that dangerous area of zero tolerance which implies maximum costs for marginal net benefits.
Striking the necessary balance to keep our communities alive is how we best fight back against this threat — the government overreach or the virus itself.
It means realizing that bad people will do good things and good people will do bad things. It means decisions made today may need to be reversed tomorrow.
Top down order separates us from our greatest strength, our ability to try new things, solve new problems and turn what is into what will be.
It means keeping your opinions tempered, your humility high and finding ways to solve real problems that alleviate current and potential suffering.
It means realizing you don’t have all the answers, and pretending like you do is literally a matter of life and death.
The economy isn’t some big aggregate thing. That’s the fundamental flaw of all dominant economic thinking, these concepts of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. They don’t exist. They aren’t real.
We talk about them like they are but they aren’t. They are pale and unfocused reflection of trillions of small decisions taken by billions of people everyday.
And no matter how much you try to model reality by looking at the big numbers, the reality is that you only see things through the densest of fog, near blind and full of hubris.
This is the central flaw in all forms of central planning, the lack of specific knowledge to come up with the right policy decisions.
That’s not ideology. That is fact.
Any guess at my behavior, no matter how educated, carries with it a measurable error which when multiplied by the number of decisions I make per day and the number of people whose actions you are trying to aggregate makes the entire exercise a futile and dangerous attempt to play god.
Even God doesn’t play dice with the Universe.
And the sooner we give up our grand ideas of top down control through the decisions of wise and insouciant verified smart people the sooner we can deal with the reality of the life in front of us.
Today the world is contracting, not ending. It’s a smaller, tighter world than it was yesterday. That means the closer your relationship to someone, the more valuable they are. HS-ZGC 50-Piece Indust... Buy New $20.99 ($10.50 / Count) (as of 05:02 UTC - Details)
The people in charge now if they are competent, if they have a shred of decency and humility, will realize by getting out of our way we can thrive. And if they won’t, then we have to do the other thing humans are really good at, subverting crude attempts at control.
That’s not ideology folks, that’s who we are. And I love people for it.
It’s simply giving up control over what you cannot and staying focused on what you can. It’s the humility to know that I don’t have the answers to the problems of the world but maybe the problems don’t exist as I think I see them.
We’ve been giving a huge wake up call that what we’ve built is a house of cards. You’ll hear a lot of cries for people to ‘get local.’ Use the time you have in front of you to build skills you didn’t have yesterday. Find ways to be more valuable to those nearest you that may need you tomorrow.
Forge real relationships with people you never thought you could.
But most importantly, it’s time to stop denying that which is in front of us.
Because, try as we might, it isn’t going away.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
The Best of Tom Luongo


Shelter in Place

I offer this video from Jonathan Pageau on the symbolism of epidemics .
It is 30 minutes , and well worth your time .
He makes several wonderful points and observations of the insanity of what is going on today , all interpreted through his Christian ( Orthodox ) symbolic lens – yet perfectly accessible and meaningful to even the die-hard atheist .
Second , this editorial ( h/t LRC ) summarizing the views of a Stanford professor on the matter , with a link to the professor ’ s original editorial .
This professor is no flake : ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New $ 18.99 ( $ 0.32 / Count ) I continue to believe that this virus has blown to diabolical proportion in order to cover for the financial system that was going to collapse in any case : the system isn ’ t collapsing because of the virus ; the virus is the pretext invented to deflect blame for the collapse .
Events daily only reinforce this view .
Will people die ?
Of course , just as they do from the flu .
Will the numbers be accurate , with an accurate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No chance , as this will destroy the narrative .
Whatever happens , the state will use it for its aggrandizement .
If relatively few deaths are attributed to this virus , it will be because the state took draconian measures – and these measures must be permanent and permanently available .
If many deaths are attributed to the virus , it will be because the state did not have enough power , and evermore power will be stolen from us .
Almost hourly , more cities , counties and states are suggesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shelter in place .
In a land that had some understanding of the world , we would know this as martial law .
Perhaps soon enough the entire country will be under such orders .
Then what ?
3M Safety Glasses , Vir ... Best Price : $ 10.99 Buy New $ 8.19 Exodus 12 : 7 And they shall take of the blood , and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses , wherein they shall eat it .
12 For I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night , and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt , both man and beast ; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment : I am the Lord .
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are : and when I see the blood , I will pass over you , and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you , when I smite the land of Egypt .
Hopefully you have painted blood on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bionic Mosquito

I offer this video from Jonathan Pageau on the symbolism of epidemics. It is 30 minutes, and well worth your time. He makes several wonderful points and observations of the insanity of what is going on today, all interpreted through his Christian (Orthodox) symbolic lens – yet perfectly accessible and meaningful to even the die-hard atheist.
Second, this editorial (h/t LRC) summarizing the views of a Stanford professor on the matter, with a link to the professor’s original editorial. This professor is no flake:
John P.A. Ioannidis is professor of medicine, of epidemiology and population health, of biomedical data science, and of statistics at Stanford University and co-director of Stanford’s Meta-Research Innovation Center.
————————————————-
(50 PCS) Disposable Re... Buy New $18.99 ($0.32 / Count) (as of 03:53 UTC - Details) I continue to believe that this virus has blown to diabolical proportion in order to cover for the financial system that was going to collapse in any case: the system isn’t collapsing because of the virus; the virus is the pretext invented to deflect blame for the collapse.
Events daily only reinforce this view. Will people die? Of course, just as they do from the flu. Will the numbers be accurate, with an accurate analysis of the factors causing death? No chance, as this will destroy the narrative.
————————————————-
Whatever happens, the state will use it for its aggrandizement. If relatively few deaths are attributed to this virus, it will be because the state took draconian measures – and these measures must be permanent and permanently available. If many deaths are attributed to the virus, it will be because the state did not have enough power, and evermore power will be stolen from us.
————————————————-
Almost hourly, more cities, counties and states are suggesting, advising, or requiring us to shelter in place. In a land that had some understanding of the world, we would know this as martial law.
Perhaps soon enough the entire country will be under such orders. Then what? 3M Safety Glasses, Vir... Best Price: $10.99 Buy New $8.19 (as of 11:56 UTC - Details)
Exodus 12: 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Conclusion
Hopefully you have painted blood on your door posts.
Reprinted with permission from Bionic Mosquito.
The Best of Bionic Mosquito