thestream--2020-03-16--Goofus and Gallant: Coronavirus Edition

Goofus and Gallant: Coronavirus Edition

Watching the Coronavirus news over the past few days , I am reminded of Goofus and Gallant .
In the Highlights for Children magazine , Goofus acts improperly , while Gallant demonstrates the proper way to behave in a given situation .
Boy , have we seen some Goofuses !
But thank God , we ’ re seeing some Gallants .
Megerian , along with other journalists , were outraged that President Trump wore one of his USA caps at the Saturday Coronavirus Task Force briefing .
See , because people can purchase those hats at the Trump 2020 website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. President to show support for the U.S.A. Because when you have TDS , Trump ’ s fashion accessorizing is more important than his working to protect the American people .
Despite their nation being ravaged by the Coronavirus , and being under strict quarantine until April 3 , the Italian people are singing .
The assorted videos have gone viral around the world .
In the good way .
For weeks , the media called the coronavirus the “ Wuhan virus.
” Then they decided , overnight , that if Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist or “ xenophobic.
” Take CNN ’ s Jim Acosta .
Please .
Immediately after Trump ’ s national address last week , Acosta decided the key takeaway was that Trump called it a “ foreign virus.
” He said it “ smacked of xenophobia.
” Even more silly , after Twitter flooded with examples of MSM referring to the virus as the Wuhan Virus or Chinese Virus — and cited countless instances of diseases or outbreaks being designated by their place of origin — Politico doubled down on the charge that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Goofus to the reporters at Friday ’ s Rose Garden press conference .
Any more snotty they ’ d have to be quarantined .
They did nothing to dispel the notion that if given the choice between squashing Trump or squashing the virus , they ’ d pick Trump in a heartbeat .
However , as we fall into a daily routine of updates , and we deal with real death and illness , I am hopeful we will see more sobriety out of the media mob .
I don ’ t expect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Rookie Zion Williamson of New Orleans Pelicans has pledged to pay the salaries of all Smoothie King Center workers for the next month .
The arena , of course , is shut down as the NBA season is put on hold .
Here ’ s part of what Zion said on Instagram : My mother has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have , and so today I am pledging to cover the salaries for all of those Smoothie King Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates and hopefully we can all join together to relieve some of the stress and hardship caused by this national health crisis.
” Sure , he ’ s already 6 ’ 6 ” .
But he ’ s never stood taller .
An honorary “ Gallant ” to all the other professional athletes who are also helping out during the sports league shutdowns .
Last week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restaurants is “ straight-up racism.
” You know AOC .
Never let facts or common sense get in the way of declaring somebody racist .
After all , how on earth is it racist to say , “ You know what , dear , maybe we should go for Indian tonight instead of Chinese ” ?
By week ’ s end , AOC recognized the danger of eating at restaurants .
She also went onto Fox News and shared a respectful , informative interview with Brett Baier .
Have you seen this clip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ train lowers his mask , sticks two fingers in his mouth and wipes them on a subway pole .
Yup , he is an incredible Goofus .
In any language .
However , if we do not follow proper hygiene practices and get careless with where we put our hands we ’ re no better .
So this guy isn ’ t just a Goofus .
He ’ s a reminder to us .
Don ’ t be a Goofus !
According to White House officials , Nancy Pelosi attempted to sneak abortion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill .
The sneaky move was to try and allocate money that was not covered by the Hyde Amendment .
The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortions .
Here ’ s a suggestion , Nancy .
Maybe for the safety of all , Democrats should socially distance themselves from Planned Parenthood .
That ’ s one guaranteed way to save lives .
Meanwhile , Pelosi does get a mini-Gallant for in the end negotiating a deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin .
The bill passed early Saturday morning and will be taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gallant : Every Single Medical Worker on the Front Line of the Fight And this includes those citizens who will be manning the drive-thru test areas at places like Wal-Mart and Walgreens .
Also , those people who will be serving as cooks and food deliverers for the millions who will be ordering out from their favorite restaurants .
Finally , we return to Italy and opera singer Maurizio Marchini .
Last week , he stepped onto his balcony and serenaded the entire town of Florence .
Listen to “ Nobody Shall Sleep.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ night of this pandemic .
And come the dawn , we will win .
We ’ ll win quicker , of course , if each and every one of us is gallant in our efforts , and avoids being a goofus .
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author , with @ JZmirak , of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration .
You can follow him at @ StreamingAl .
And if you aren ’ t already , please follow The Stream at @ Streamdotorg .

Watching the Coronavirus news over the past few days, I am reminded of Goofus and Gallant.
In the Highlights for Children magazine, Goofus acts improperly, while Gallant demonstrates the proper way to behave in a given situation.
Boy, have we seen some Goofuses! But thank God, we’re seeing some Gallants.
Goofus: Los Angeles Times Reporter Chris Megerian
Megerian, along with other journalists, were outraged that President Trump wore one of his USA caps at the Saturday Coronavirus Task Force briefing. See, because people can purchase those hats at the Trump 2020 website. Because it’s horrific for the U.S. President to show support for the U.S.A. Because when you have TDS, Trump’s fashion accessorizing is more important than his working to protect the American people.
Trump is at the White House addressing a national emergency over a global pandemic while wearing a baseball hat you can buy on his campaign website. pic.twitter.com/ChCUMNmybv — Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) March 14, 2020
Gallant: The Italian People
Despite their nation being ravaged by the Coronavirus, and being under strict quarantine until April 3, the Italian people are singing. The assorted videos have gone viral around the world. In the good way.
Here’s a neighborhood singing the classic pop hit “Volare.”
A whole Roman neighborhood singing a popular Italian song “Volare” from their balconies and waving at each other. An amazing flash mob to lift the spirit in these crazy times ❤ #Italy #coronavirus #forzaitalia #roma #flashmob #love pic.twitter.com/xjeZTeO0GO — Jenna Vehviläinen (@jennavehvi) March 13, 2020
And here’s the Italian national anthem.
https://twitter.com/npeci/status/1238519804555862017
Buona futura, amici! Good luck, friends!
Goofus: CNN’s Jim Acosta and Friends
For weeks, the media called the coronavirus the “Wuhan virus.” Then they decided, overnight, that if Trump or Republicans use the term it is racist or “xenophobic.”
Take CNN’s Jim Acosta. Please. Immediately after Trump’s national address last week, Acosta decided the key takeaway was that Trump called it a “foreign virus.” He said it “smacked of xenophobia.”
Even more silly, after Twitter flooded with examples of MSM referring to the virus as the Wuhan Virus or Chinese Virus — and cited countless instances of diseases or outbreaks being designated by their place of origin — Politico doubled down on the charge that it is xenophobic.
A bonus Group Goofus to the reporters at Friday’s Rose Garden press conference. Any more snotty they’d have to be quarantined. They did nothing to dispel the notion that if given the choice between squashing Trump or squashing the virus, they’d pick Trump in a heartbeat.
However, as we fall into a daily routine of updates, and we deal with real death and illness, I am hopeful we will see more sobriety out of the media mob. I don’t expect it. But I can be hopeful.
Gallant: NBA Rookie Zion Williamson
Rookie Zion Williamson of New Orleans Pelicans has pledged to pay the salaries of all Smoothie King Center workers for the next month. The arena, of course, is shut down as the NBA season is put on hold. Here’s part of what Zion said on Instagram:
My mother has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have, and so today I am pledging to cover the salaries for all of those Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days. This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates and hopefully we can all join together to relieve some of the stress and hardship caused by this national health crisis.”
Sure, he’s already 6’6”. But he’s never stood taller.
An honorary “Gallant” to all the other professional athletes who are also helping out during the sports league shutdowns.
Goofus: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Last week, AOC declared that avoiding eating at Chinese restaurants is “straight-up racism.” You know AOC. Never let facts or common sense get in the way of declaring somebody racist. After all, how on earth is it racist to say, “You know what, dear, maybe we should go for Indian tonight instead of Chinese”?
Gallant: Also AOC.
By week’s end, AOC recognized the danger of eating at restaurants. She also went onto Fox News and shared a respectful, informative interview with Brett Baier.
Goofus: The Drunk Belgian
Have you seen this clip yet? A drunk Belgian on a train lowers his mask, sticks two fingers in his mouth and wipes them on a subway pole.
Regardez moi ce fdp qui est sûrement contaminé du coronavirus ce qu’il fait sur les barres des transports publique !!! Ne touchez plus les barres ! #coronavirus #STIB pic.twitter.com/t2QvYZKEJq — Souf (@SoufOff) March 9, 2020
Yup, he is an incredible Goofus. In any language. However, if we do not follow proper hygiene practices and get careless with where we put our hands we’re no better. So this guy isn’t just a Goofus. He’s a reminder to us. Don’t be a Goofus!
Ghoulish Goofus: Speaker Nancy Pelosi
According to White House officials, Nancy Pelosi attempted to sneak abortion funding into the Family First Coronavirus Relief Bill. The sneaky move was to try and allocate money that was not covered by the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortions. Here’s a suggestion, Nancy. Maybe for the safety of all, Democrats should socially distance themselves from Planned Parenthood. That’s one guaranteed way to save lives.
Meanwhile, Pelosi does get a mini-Gallant for in the end negotiating a deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The bill passed early Saturday morning and will be taken up this week by the Senate.
Gallant: Every Single Medical Worker on the Front Line of the Fight
And this includes those citizens who will be manning the drive-thru test areas at places like Wal-Mart and Walgreens. Also, those people who will be serving as cooks and food deliverers for the millions who will be ordering out from their favorite restaurants.
One More Gallant: Opera Singer Maurizio Marachi
Finally, we return to Italy and opera singer Maurizio Marchini. Last week, he stepped onto his balcony and serenaded the entire town of Florence. Listen to “Nobody Shall Sleep.”
During Italy's quarantine, tenor and opera singer Maurizio Marchini wanted to give people hope and joy. So he went to his balcony and serenaded the entire town of Florence. The song is "Nobody Shall Sleep." and ends with “with the dawn, I will win.” pic.twitter.com/uF16buVkOL — Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) March 14, 2020
We will get through the dark night of this pandemic. And come the dawn, we will win.
We’ll win quicker, of course, if each and every one of us is gallant in our efforts, and avoids being a goofus.
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with @JZmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl. And if you aren’t already, please follow The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-03-16--Exposed to Coronavirus? Just TRY to Get Tested. Jason Jones Did.

Stream columnist Jason Jones travels constantly as part of his pro-life apostolate .
He was exposed to the Chinese Coronavirus and is still sick , awaiting test results .
We decided to speak with him about his experience with the medical establishment and its response to the virus .
For detailed medical information on the disease , please read this accessible primer .
You travel constantly as part of your apostolate , promoting and making films that build a culture of life , through Movie to Movement .
What kind of travel have you undertaken in recent weeks ?
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been in nine states or cities , at conventions and in rooms with thousands of people .
I ’ ve signed hundreds of copies of my book .
I ’ ve been on perhaps a dozen flights , none of them quasi-empty .
What are your thoughts on the Coronavirus threat right now ?
I ’ m mostly worried about what appears to be a manufactured mass hysteria , at a time when people can ’ t even get tested if they have reason to be .
How did you find out that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A friend of mine whom I ’ d met with called me .
He learned that the day before he ’ d met with me he was in a meeting with someone who ’ d tested positive .
This was 13 days ago .
What was your first reaction ?
How did that evolve ?
I ’ m not worried for my own sake .
With my health I think any case would be mild .
But I travel a lot , at events with some elderly people .
So I want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same precautions if I had influenza .
During the swine flu epidemic , I had a mild sore throat .
But I canceled my event for the first time in 30 years .
It didn ’ t require global mass hysteria .
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
Support The Stream » Can I Get a Test Please ?
How successful were your efforts to get a simple test ?
I ’ m a single-minded person .
When I decide to do something , I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in law .
So when I got home , I stayed in a hotel for 24 hours .
I phoned our family doctor .
He said there are drive-through testing stations at Urgent Care .
My wife called ahead and gave my symptoms , and exposure history .
They said “ Yes , come in for a test.
” So I thought “ Wow , this is easy , great .
I won ’ t have to self-quarantine for 14 days.
” I went to the clinic .
It was abandoned , no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a woman came out .
She said I didn ’ t qualify for testing .
I asked to speak to her supervisor .
I talked to the supervisor .
She said , “ I ’ m sorry you don ’ t have a fever and your doctor didn ’ t refer you.
” I responded that my doctor did refer me , that their staff had told me to come in .
I thought this was really strange .
What upset me most ?
There was no line , no “ overwhelming ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Urgent Care had said there was an “ overwhelming ” demand .
They were doing their to best to test those who wanted tests .
But there was no line .
Nobody there .
Right there in front of them , I started calling media and elected officials .
I reached some of them , too .
Then something happened that really took me aback .
An older , obese woman who was hacking and coughing came up .
She said her doctor sent her .
The personnel asked what was her fever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just sent her away .
Then I got incensed and said “ I ’ m not leaving without a test.
” I went to my car and spent three and a half hours watching .
Nine people total showed up .
Within two minutes ( more often 30 seconds ) , the staff sent them all away .
Nobody even got his temperature taken .
I Had to Contact My Congresswoman By this time Hawaii Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard tweeted out my situation at Urgent Care to the world .
I believe this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So they called the police to have me removed .
I wasn ’ t breaking any laws , so the police couldn ’ t .
The CEO of Urgent Care called me and told me they were doing their best to manage the massive lines .
I told her “ I ’ m sitting right here , there ’ s no one waiting in line .
Empty parking lot.
” She said , “ That ’ s because we ’ ve done such a great job managing the line.
” It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m a journalist , I write for The Stream .
Can you tell me what the objective standards are to be tested .
So people don ’ t waste their time coming here ?
” She said , “ It ’ s up to the staff ’ s discretion.
” I said , “ That ’ s subjective .
How can people self-assess , what can we tell them ?
” Then she admitted that yes , it was subjective .
Anecdotes from Across the Country Are problems like this confined to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from across the country from people with very severe symptoms .
One had a 104-degree fever .
He went to a hospital in Austin , followed all the instructions , called dozens of people .
Finally , he just couldn ’ t get tested .
I experienced the same thing in Hawaii .
I went to a drive-through “ testing center , ” which wouldn ’ t test me .
They gave me a number to call .
The number told me to self-quarantine for 14 days .
A member of the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same experience .
So apparently you have to be a Hollywood celebrity , in the NBA , or actually dying , to get tested .
I realized this isn ’ t just my neighbors .
It ’ s nationwide .
What ’ s really going on ?
We keep hearing about massive lines of people waiting for tests .
Where are they ?
Why are they lying ?
Are they trying to create panic ?
Why Whip Up a Panic , But Refuse to Test ?
Did you continue to observe what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stayed to keep a tally of how many people showed up , and whether they got any help .
Eventually I left to go to my doctor , who actually took my temperature .
He was shocked that Urgent Care didn ’ t even take anyone ’ s temperature .
They just asked us what they were .
I had friends all across the island of Oahu who went to the nearest “ testing sites.
” Nobody was there but news crews .
And doctors with face masks being interviewed by the press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d “ apparently threatened ” their staff .
Its executives held a second press conference .
They claimed they were testing people .
They said that at my location there were over 100 people seen , and 25 % of them were tested .
But the Hawaii Star-Advertiser reports that only 37 people were tested in the entire state that day .
I was at the location for 25 % of their work hours , I saw nine people .
All of them were turned away without assessment .
None were tested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And the next day at the clinic ?
I went back again , thinking maybe I ’ d missed something .
Maybe there are massive lines .
And I ’ d just missed them .
I wanted to prove myself wrong .
I waited there for some three hours .
It was even slower than the day before .
Nobody presented himself for testing while I was there .
I only saw a couple of people show up for any reason at all .
I think people are scared of catching the disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one is being tested .
So I went on Facebook Live .
I asked : • Why are they telling us there is an overwhelming response for tests when there isn ’ t ?
• And why are they asking people to get tested and then not giving them tests ?
• Why is Urgent Care Hawaii putting out false information ?
I tagged the company as I was livestreaming .
So Urgent Care called the police .
I asked employees , while live streaming on Facebook : “ Why are you saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” The response was Orwellian : “ We ’ re doing the best we can with this overwhelming demand.
” ( What demand ? )
Then I went and talked to the police .
I asked if I was breaking any laws .
Apparently not .
At that point a woman who works for Urgent Care came out and started filming me , too .
I asked her the same questions .
Why was the company lying to media about being “ overwhelmed ” ?
When I said : “ You lied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of tests … ” the woman swung at me .
She was trying to grab my phone .
Had I done that to her , I ’ d hope I would have been handcuffed .
The police tried to convince me that this wasn ’ t assault .
But I persisted and I did press charges .
Why Whip Up a Panic but Refuse to Test Us ?
What ’ s your takeaway from this experience ?
My main concern is that my community is being intentionally deceived for reasons no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the truth spoken clearly .
We can all agree we don ’ t want anyone to use this situation for political or financial gain .
The opaque language , mixed messages , and endless stream of news headlines loaded with words like “ panic , ” “ chaos , ” “ overwhelmed , ” “ pandemic , ” and “ martial law.
” It all seems designed to foment fear and confusion .
I wanted to go home and see my family after three weeks .
I wanted a simple nose swab , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my family .
Later , I went to my own doctor and received a nasal and throat swab .
The samples were sent to Texas .
I ’ m managing my expectations .
I ’ m prepared to never get those results .
What is really going on ?
NOTE : A White House briefing promised new opportunities for those who need Coronavirus tests .
According to NPR : Jason Jones is a senior contributor to The Stream .
He is a film producer , author , activist and human rights worker .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Race to Save Our Century .
You can follow him @ TGCWithJason .

Stream columnist Jason Jones travels constantly as part of his pro-life apostolate. He was exposed to the Chinese Coronavirus and is still sick, awaiting test results. We decided to speak with him about his experience with the medical establishment and its response to the virus. For detailed medical information on the disease, please read this accessible primer.
You travel constantly as part of your apostolate, promoting and making films that build a culture of life, through Movie to Movement. What kind of travel have you undertaken in recent weeks?
In less than three weeks I’ve been in nine states or cities, at conventions and in rooms with thousands of people. I’ve signed hundreds of copies of my book. I’ve been on perhaps a dozen flights, none of them quasi-empty.
What are your thoughts on the Coronavirus threat right now?
I’m mostly worried about what appears to be a manufactured mass hysteria, at a time when people can’t even get tested if they have reason to be.
How did you find out that you had been exposed to Coronavirus?
A friend of mine whom I’d met with called me. He learned that the day before he’d met with me he was in a meeting with someone who’d tested positive. This was 13 days ago.
What was your first reaction? How did that evolve?
I’m not worried for my own sake. With my health I think any case would be mild. But I travel a lot, at events with some elderly people. So I want to be responsible. I would take the same precautions if I had influenza. During the swine flu epidemic, I had a mild sore throat. But I canceled my event for the first time in 30 years. It didn’t require global mass hysteria.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Can I Get a Test Please?
How successful were your efforts to get a simple test?
I’m a single-minded person. When I decide to do something, I do it. I have an elderly mother in law. So when I got home, I stayed in a hotel for 24 hours. I phoned our family doctor. He said there are drive-through testing stations at Urgent Care. My wife called ahead and gave my symptoms, and exposure history. They said “Yes, come in for a test.” So I thought “Wow, this is easy, great. I won’t have to self-quarantine for 14 days.”
I went to the clinic. It was abandoned, no one even standing there. At last a woman came out. She said I didn’t qualify for testing. I asked to speak to her supervisor. I talked to the supervisor. She said, “I’m sorry you don’t have a fever and your doctor didn’t refer you.” I responded that my doctor did refer me, that their staff had told me to come in.
I thought this was really strange. What upset me most? There was no line, no “overwhelming” presence of people. The CEO of Urgent Care had said there was an “overwhelming” demand. They were doing their to best to test those who wanted tests. But there was no line. Nobody there.
Right there in front of them, I started calling media and elected officials. I reached some of them, too.
Then something happened that really took me aback. An older, obese woman who was hacking and coughing came up. She said her doctor sent her. The personnel asked what was her fever. She said “99.8.” They just sent her away.
Then I got incensed and said “I’m not leaving without a test.” I went to my car and spent three and a half hours watching. Nine people total showed up. Within two minutes (more often 30 seconds), the staff sent them all away. Nobody even got his temperature taken.
I Had to Contact My Congresswoman
What happened next?
By this time Hawaii Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard tweeted out my situation at Urgent Care to the world.
.@GovHawaii @CDC @FDA My friend is sick, has had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. He’s at Urgent Care Hawaii to get tested & was rejected, saying he doesn’t meet the criteria. In the hour he’s been there, three other sick people were turned away. Gov. Ige?? pic.twitter.com/YF8kuE8EYQ — Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 13, 2020
I believe this is what got Urgent Care’s attention. So they called the police to have me removed. I wasn’t breaking any laws, so the police couldn’t.
The CEO of Urgent Care called me and told me they were doing their best to manage the massive lines. I told her “I’m sitting right here, there’s no one waiting in line. Empty parking lot.”
She said, “That’s because we’ve done such a great job managing the line.” It was Orwellian.
I said, “I’m a journalist, I write for The Stream. Can you tell me what the objective standards are to be tested. So people don’t waste their time coming here?”
She said, “It’s up to the staff’s discretion.”
I said, “That’s subjective. How can people self-assess, what can we tell them?” Then she admitted that yes, it was subjective.
Anecdotes from Across the Country
Are problems like this confined to Hawaii?
I’m getting reports from across the country from people with very severe symptoms. One had a 104-degree fever. He went to a hospital in Austin, followed all the instructions, called dozens of people. Finally, he just couldn’t get tested.
I experienced the same thing in Hawaii. I went to a drive-through “testing center,” which wouldn’t test me. They gave me a number to call. The number told me to self-quarantine for 14 days.
A member of the US Army Special Forces was exposed, had the same experience. So apparently you have to be a Hollywood celebrity, in the NBA, or actually dying, to get tested. I realized this isn’t just my neighbors. It’s nationwide. What’s really going on?
We keep hearing about massive lines of people waiting for tests. Where are they? Why are they lying? Are they trying to create panic?
Why Whip Up a Panic, But Refuse to Test?
Did you continue to observe what was happening at the clinic?
I stayed to keep a tally of how many people showed up, and whether they got any help. Eventually I left to go to my doctor, who actually took my temperature. He was shocked that Urgent Care didn’t even take anyone’s temperature. They just asked us what they were. I had friends all across the island of Oahu who went to the nearest “testing sites.” Nobody was there but news crews. And doctors with face masks being interviewed by the press.
Apparently you have to be a Hollywood celebrity, in the NBA, or actually dying, to get tested.
Urgent Care told the media I’d “apparently threatened” their staff. Its executives held a second press conference. They claimed they were testing people. They said that at my location there were over 100 people seen, and 25% of them were tested. But the Hawaii Star-Advertiser reports that only 37 people were tested in the entire state that day. I was at the location for 25% of their work hours, I saw nine people. All of them were turned away without assessment. None were tested.
The Clinic Employee Swung at Me
And the next day at the clinic?
I went back again, thinking maybe I’d missed something. Maybe there are massive lines. And I’d just missed them. I wanted to prove myself wrong. I waited there for some three hours. It was even slower than the day before. Nobody presented himself for testing while I was there. I only saw a couple of people show up for any reason at all. I think people are scared of catching the disease from people getting tested. But no one is being tested.
So I went on Facebook Live. I asked:
Why are they telling us there is an overwhelming response for tests when there isn’t?
And why are they asking people to get tested and then not giving them tests?
Why is Urgent Care Hawaii putting out false information?
I tagged the company as I was livestreaming. So Urgent Care called the police. I asked employees, while live streaming on Facebook: “Why are you saying there is an overwhelming demand for tests?” The response was Orwellian: “We’re doing the best we can with this overwhelming demand.” (What demand?) Then I went and talked to the police. I asked if I was breaking any laws. Apparently not.
At that point a woman who works for Urgent Care came out and started filming me, too. I asked her the same questions. Why was the company lying to media about being “overwhelmed”?
When I said: “You lied to the people of the Hawaii about the number of tests …” the woman swung at me. She was trying to grab my phone. Had I done that to her, I’d hope I would have been handcuffed. The police tried to convince me that this wasn’t assault. But I persisted and I did press charges.
Why Whip Up a Panic but Refuse to Test Us?
What’s your takeaway from this experience?
My main concern is that my community is being intentionally deceived for reasons no one can understand. I just want the truth spoken clearly. We can all agree we don’t want anyone to use this situation for political or financial gain. The opaque language, mixed messages, and endless stream of news headlines loaded with words like “panic,” “chaos,” “overwhelmed,” “pandemic,”and “martial law.” It all seems designed to foment fear and confusion.
I wanted to go home and see my family after three weeks. I wanted a simple nose swab, so I could go on providing for my family.
Later, I went to my own doctor and received a nasal and throat swab. The samples were sent to Texas. I’m managing my expectations. I’m prepared to never get those results. What is really going on?
More Testing Soon?
NOTE: A White House briefing promised new opportunities for those who need Coronavirus tests. According to NPR:
The Trump administration said on Sunday that starting this week, labs across the country will be able to process coronavirus screenings of up to 4,000 people a day, as the deadly virus worsens across America and criticism mounts over the availability of tests. … “We are going from somewhat manual, relatively slow phases to a testing regiment that we can test many tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals per week and maybe even more,” said Adm. Brett Giroir, who is leading the Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts in coordinating coronavirus testing. Nearly 2 million tests will be available this week and more than 10 states now have drive-through testing sites, officials said.
UPDATE: Jason Jones finally got his test results. He did NOT catch the Coronavirus, and is recuperating nicely.
Jason Jones is a senior contributor to The Stream. He is a film producer, author, activist and human rights worker. He is co-author with John Zmirak of The Race to Save Our Century. You can follow him @TGCWithJason.


thestream--2020-03-16--Memo to Ruling Class: Jeffrey Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself

Jeffrey Epstein didn ’ t kill himself .
This fact , which no serious person denies , marks a new era in the unfolding of the Sexual Revolution .
For years , we have been told that the Sexual Revolution was part of the March of History into a glorious day of progress , peace and pleasure for everyone .
We ordinary folk can now say without doubt to the members of the Elite Ruling Class who have been foisting this nonsense on us : you aren ’ t fooling us anymore .
In my book , The Sexual State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Elites of society are so invested in promoting the Sexual Revolution .
Some are just ideologues .
Some are making money from the Sexual Revolution .
Some enjoy the power rush they get from being part of a movement to remake the world in their own image .
Here is an even simpler explanation .
Some rich and powerful people want to have sex without consequences or even inconvenience .
The Sexual Revolutionary ideology and all the policies that support it , provide these people with encouragement or cover or both .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ much in my book .
It is generally bad manners to assume bad faith , unless the evidence is overwhelming .
The evidence is now overwhelming .
Some highly placed advocates of the Sexual Revolution just wanted to get laid .
Stephen Reinhart , “ the Liberal Lion , ” was the Chief Justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit .
Under his reign , the Sexual Revolutionaries could count on the Ninth Circuit for favorable reinterpretations of law .
One of his former law clerks recently revealed he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his female subordinates .
Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein made numerous films that implicitly or explicitly supported the Sexual Revolution or attacked the Catholic Church or both .
We now know that he was a notorious predator , pervert and sex addict , thankfully consigned to prison for the next 23 years .
Speaking of the Catholic Church , the disgraced former cardinal , now Mr. Theodore McCarrick , was big on promoting Catholic teaching on “ social justice.
” Church teaching on sexual morality : not so much .
In fact , McCarrick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instruction from Pope Benedict XVI telling the U.S. clergy that they ought to take a tougher stand on pro-abortion , self-proclaimed “ Catholic ” politicians .
The pope wrote a letter that then-Cardinal McCarrick failed to deliver .
Who would have thought ?
A sexual predator ( a homosexual predator , to be sure ) dragged his feet about proclaiming Church teaching on abortion .
And speaking of homosexual predators , what about Terry Bean ?
You remember him , don ’ t you ?
He was the Democratic fundraiser and gay rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abuse of boys .
Do You Expect Us to Believe He Killed Himself ?
And then of course , there is Jeffrey Epstein himself , the proprietor of an island for sex slavery for his rich and powerful friends .
Gosh , isn ’ t it sad that he killed himself ?
Seriously , members of the Elite Ruling Class , do you expect us to believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself ?
Some wags in Le Krewe d ’ Etat created a Mardi Gras float featuring Hilary Clinton strangling Jeffrey Epstein .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way across the pond in the U.K. press .
A Denver story even has an amateur video .
Memo to Sexual Revolutionary Elites : We don ’ t believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself .
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
Support The Stream » Your corporations blast pornography into the public square .
Your sports leagues groom young girls to think sex with strangers is empowering .
Your “ educators ” and politicians inflict graphic sexual “ education ” on children , against the wishes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ material ” is so graphic , the live broadcast of the Washington State legislative debates included a warning label : “ Mature Subject Matter — Viewer Discretion Advised.
” Yet the legislature voted it into the classroom of every public school in the State of Washington .
Your allies in higher education conscript generations of college students as shock troops for the Sexual Revolution .
You divert their attention from your shameless exploitation and keep them focused on your preferred scapegoats the “ Religious Right.
” You have used your microphone in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crimes .
You are seemingly more concerned about who leaked the cover-up story , than about the cover-up itself .
In the Court of Public Opinion , We Have Reached a Verdict You notice how I said “ seemingly.
” That is an old habit .
I generally avoid making rash statements that I can not prove .
But in an environment of massive cover-up and deception that includes seemingly ( there ’ s that word again ) every institution in society , certainty is no longer possible .
I ’ m not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to prove your crimes beyond a reasonable doubt .
I am in the court of Public Opinion .
And we have reached a verdict on the Ruling Class and the Sexual Revolution .
We believe you are capable of any crime , including murder , rape , pedophilia and perjury .
You have abused our good will .
We believe you , the Elite Ruling Class , are using every institution of society to embolden predators and disarm victims .
You have used up the benefit of the doubt .
We will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theories we would have dismissed only a short time ago .
When in doubt about sexual crimes or cover-ups by the Ruling Class , the presumption goes against you .
In a pinch , all ties go to the guy in the tinfoil hat , not the guy in the designer business suit .
As Michael Brendan Dougherty put it : we believe paranoia stands to reason .
“ Jeffrey Epstein didn ’ t kill himself.
” Whenever you see that meme , understand what the people of this country are telling you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We don ’ t believe you .
And you have only yourselves to blame .
Jennifer Roback Morse , Ph.D. , is the founder and President of the Ruth Institute .
She writes about love , marriage , sexuality and the family .

Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself. This fact, which no serious person denies, marks a new era in the unfolding of the Sexual Revolution. For years, we have been told that the Sexual Revolution was part of the March of History into a glorious day of progress, peace and pleasure for everyone. We ordinary folk can now say without doubt to the members of the Elite Ruling Class who have been foisting this nonsense on us: you aren’t fooling us anymore.
In my book, The Sexual State, I offer several possible reasons why the Elites of society are so invested in promoting the Sexual Revolution. Some are just ideologues. Some are making money from the Sexual Revolution. Some enjoy the power rush they get from being part of a movement to remake the world in their own image.
A Simpler Explanation
Here is an even simpler explanation. Some rich and powerful people want to have sex without consequences or even inconvenience. The Sexual Revolutionary ideology and all the policies that support it, provide these people with encouragement or cover or both.
I did not emphasize this point very much in my book. It is generally bad manners to assume bad faith, unless the evidence is overwhelming. The evidence is now overwhelming. Some highly placed advocates of the Sexual Revolution just wanted to get laid.
Stephen Reinhart, “the Liberal Lion,” was the Chief Justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Under his reign, the Sexual Revolutionaries could count on the Ninth Circuit for favorable reinterpretations of law. One of his former law clerks recently revealed he had a pattern of sexual harassment of his female subordinates. Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein made numerous films that implicitly or explicitly supported the Sexual Revolution or attacked the Catholic Church or both. We now know that he was a notorious predator, pervert and sex addict, thankfully consigned to prison for the next 23 years.
“Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself.” Whenever you see that meme, understand what the people of this country are telling you. We don’t trust you.
Speaking of the Catholic Church, the disgraced former cardinal, now Mr. Theodore McCarrick, was big on promoting Catholic teaching on “social justice.” Church teaching on sexual morality: not so much. In fact, McCarrick downplayed to the point of suppressing an instruction from Pope Benedict XVI telling the U.S. clergy that they ought to take a tougher stand on pro-abortion, self-proclaimed “Catholic” politicians. The pope wrote a letter that then-Cardinal McCarrick failed to deliver. Who would have thought? A sexual predator (a homosexual predator, to be sure) dragged his feet about proclaiming Church teaching on abortion.
And speaking of homosexual predators, what about Terry Bean? You remember him, don’t you? He was the Democratic fundraiser and gay rights activist who has been accused of sexual abuse of boys.
Do You Expect Us to Believe He Killed Himself?
And then of course, there is Jeffrey Epstein himself, the proprietor of an island for sex slavery for his rich and powerful friends. Gosh, isn’t it sad that he killed himself?
Seriously, members of the Elite Ruling Class, do you expect us to believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself? Some wags in Le Krewe d’Etat created a Mardi Gras float featuring Hilary Clinton strangling Jeffrey Epstein. This “disturbing” float attracted attention all the way across the pond in the U.K. press. A Denver story even has an amateur video.
Memo to Sexual Revolutionary Elites: We don’t believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Your corporations blast pornography into the public square. Your sports leagues groom young girls to think sex with strangers is empowering. Your “educators” and politicians inflict graphic sexual “education” on children, against the wishes of their parents. This “educational material” is so graphic, the live broadcast of the Washington State legislative debates included a warning label: “Mature Subject Matter — Viewer Discretion Advised.” Yet the legislature voted it into the classroom of every public school in the State of Washington.
Your allies in higher education conscript generations of college students as shock troops for the Sexual Revolution. You divert their attention from your shameless exploitation and keep them focused on your preferred scapegoats the “Religious Right.” You have used your microphone in the media to cover up Epstein’s crimes. You are seemingly more concerned about who leaked the cover-up story, than about the cover-up itself.
In the Court of Public Opinion, We Have Reached a Verdict
You notice how I said “seemingly.” That is an old habit. I generally avoid making rash statements that I cannot prove. But in an environment of massive cover-up and deception that includes seemingly (there’s that word again) every institution in society, certainty is no longer possible. I’m not in a court of law where I have to prove your crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. I am in the court of Public Opinion. And we have reached a verdict on the Ruling Class and the Sexual Revolution.
We believe you are capable of any crime, including murder, rape, pedophilia and perjury. You have abused our good will. We believe you, the Elite Ruling Class, are using every institution of society to embolden predators and disarm victims.
You have used up the benefit of the doubt. We will give a respectful hearing to internet conspiracy theories we would have dismissed only a short time ago. When in doubt about sexual crimes or cover-ups by the Ruling Class, the presumption goes against you. In a pinch, all ties go to the guy in the tinfoil hat, not the guy in the designer business suit. As Michael Brendan Dougherty put it: we believe paranoia stands to reason.
“Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself.” Whenever you see that meme, understand what the people of this country are telling you. We don’t trust you. We don’t believe you. And you have only yourselves to blame.
Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., is the founder and President of the Ruth Institute. She writes about love, marriage, sexuality and the family.


thestream--2020-03-17--The Revival of Revenge

The Revival of Revenge

We ’ re under the impression that progress in inevitable .
Not only technological progress , but human progress is for all intents and purposes a right .
Right ?
Earlier this month on the steps of the Supreme Court , Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer made it clear that he ’ s out for vengeance .
“ I want to tell you , Gorsuch .
I want to tell you , Kavanaugh , ” he said .
“ You have released a whirlwind , and you will pay the price .
You won ’ t know what hit you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decisions.
” That is decisions in any way restricting unlimited abortion .
What exactly Schumer threatened is unclear — Assassination ?
Impeachment ?
Abductions and beatings ?
But what is clear is that a senior U.S. senator believes in vengeance justice — something that , around 500 B.C.
, Aeschylus dismissed as a horrid idea in his trilogy of plays The Oresteia .
Paris , prince of Troy , visited Sparta and its king , Menelaus .
There he met Menelaus ’ beautiful wife , Helen , and together they ran away to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the help of his brother Agamemnon mobilized for revenge .
The legendary thousand ships sailed to conquer Troy , raze the city , kill Paris , and recover Helen .
It took ten years , but finally the city fell .
Helen went home with Menelaus and Agamemnon returned to his wife , Clytemnestra .
What Agamemnon didn ’ t know was that while his desire for revenge had been satisfied with the taking of Troy , Clytemnestra ’ s vengefulness was smoldering for ten years .
In order to get favorable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sacrificed their daughter to the gods .
Agamemnon killed our daughter , Clytemnestra reasoned , and justice demands that I kill him .
Aeschylus ’ first play , “ Agamemnon , ” begins as Agamemnon arrives home tired and dusty .
He greets his wife and household and heads for a bath .
There Clytemnestra along with her lover , Aegisthus who also has a claim of vengeance against Agamemnon , stab him to death .
The killer is killed and , as the first play ends , justice is served — maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Libation Bearers , ” Agamemnon and Clytemnestra ’ s son , Orestes , who his mother drove out of town , comes home .
Upon arrival he meets his sister , Electra , mourning at their father ’ s grave .
After she tells him the sordid tale of their father ’ s murder , Orestes , urged on by the god Apollo , declares , “ They killed an honored man by cunning / they die by cunning , caught in the same noose.
” So Orestes kills the killers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice is served — maybe .
As the third play , “ The Eumenides , ” opens , Orestes faces vengeance .
The ancient gods of the underworld , the Furies , pursue him demanding his life , demanding justice .
“ Blood of the mother draws me on , ” says the leader of the Fury , “ must hunt the man for Justice.
” Orestes hurries to Delphi to seek Apollo ’ s help .
“ You commended [ Orestes ] to kill his mother , ” the leader of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it differently : “ Commanded him to avenge his father….
” Killing one ’ s mother is bad .
Avenging one ’ s father is good .
So which is it ?
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
Support The Stream » Orestes runs to Athens to seek help from Athena .
There the goddess of wisdom brokers a deal to satisfy all parties : Apollo , the Furies , Orestes , justice , and the good of the city .
The Furies vociferously accuse Orestes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the one hand , Orestes avenged his father ’ s murder , an act of filial piety and justice .
On the other hand , as the Furies insist : he killed his own mother .
Unsure of how to adjudicate the case , she tells Orestes and the Furies : Rather than endless revenge in the name of justice , Athena proposes trial by jury .
Orestes is acquitted and she convinces the Furies that justice through reason is superior to justice through rage and revenge .
Not that the Furies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime and injustice is great good .
But fury has its place and the Furies are , in a sense , domesticated .
They become the Eumenides , “ the Kindly Ones ” whose energy rather than causing an endless cycle of revenge draws a people together in the pursuit of evenhanded justice and the common good .
As I read The Oresteia and as I interviewed my Wyoming Catholic College colleague Dr. Pavlos Papadopolous for the college ’ s After Dinner Scholar podcast , I couldn ’ t help thinking of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Digital lynchings on Twitter are commonplace .
It ’ s nearly impossible to win a defamation of character lawsuit .
Attacks on visiting scholars at colleges are hardly news any more .
Vengeance and revenge are back in force .
And vengeful anger in our politics is especially shocking and damaging .
Words about revenge by those sworn to uphold our system of justice can only help normalize a culture of vengeance , something Aeschylus and the Athenians had the good sense to reject 2,500 years ago .
Dr. James Tonkowich , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a freelance writer , speaker and commentator on spirituality , religion and public life .
He is the author of The Liberty Threat : The Attack on Religious Freedom in America Today and Pears , Grapes , and Dates : A Good Life After Mid-Life .
Jim serves as Director of Distance Learning at Wyoming Catholic College and is host of the college ’ s weekly podcast , “ The After Dinner Scholar .
”

We’re under the impression that progress in inevitable. Not only technological progress, but human progress is for all intents and purposes a right. Right?
Wrong.
Schumer’s Vengeful Language Hearkens Back to 2,500 Years Ago
Earlier this month on the steps of the Supreme Court, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer made it clear that he’s out for vengeance.
“I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh,” he said. “You have released a whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” That is decisions in any way restricting unlimited abortion.
Justice is served — maybe.
What exactly Schumer threatened is unclear — Assassination? Impeachment? Abductions and beatings? But what is clear is that a senior U.S. senator believes in vengeance justice — something that, around 500 B.C., Aeschylus dismissed as a horrid idea in his trilogy of plays The Oresteia.
“The Oresteia” Play Highlighted Why Revenge Justice is a Bad Idea
Paris, prince of Troy, visited Sparta and its king, Menelaus. There he met Menelaus’ beautiful wife, Helen, and together they ran away to Troy.
In his fury, Menelaus with the help of his brother Agamemnon mobilized for revenge. The legendary thousand ships sailed to conquer Troy, raze the city, kill Paris, and recover Helen. It took ten years, but finally the city fell. Helen went home with Menelaus and Agamemnon returned to his wife, Clytemnestra.
What Agamemnon didn’t know was that while his desire for revenge had been satisfied with the taking of Troy, Clytemnestra’s vengefulness was smoldering for ten years. In order to get favorable winds to get to Troy, Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter to the gods. Agamemnon killed our daughter, Clytemnestra reasoned, and justice demands that I kill him.
“Agamemnon”
Aeschylus’ first play, “Agamemnon,” begins as Agamemnon arrives home tired and dusty. He greets his wife and household and heads for a bath. There Clytemnestra along with her lover, Aegisthus who also has a claim of vengeance against Agamemnon, stab him to death.
The killer is killed and, as the first play ends, justice is served — maybe.
“The Liberation Bearers”
In the second play, “The Libation Bearers,” Agamemnon and Clytemnestra’s son, Orestes, who his mother drove out of town, comes home. Upon arrival he meets his sister, Electra, mourning at their father’s grave. After she tells him the sordid tale of their father’s murder, Orestes, urged on by the god Apollo, declares, “They killed an honored man by cunning / they die by cunning, caught in the same noose.”
So Orestes kills the killers and, as the second play ends, justice is served — maybe.
“The Eumenides”
As the third play, “The Eumenides,” opens, Orestes faces vengeance. The ancient gods of the underworld, the Furies, pursue him demanding his life, demanding justice. “Blood of the mother draws me on,” says the leader of the Fury, “must hunt the man for Justice.”
Orestes hurries to Delphi to seek Apollo’s help. “You commended [Orestes] to kill his mother,” the leader of the Furies accuses Apollo. The god puts it differently: “Commanded him to avenge his father….”
Killing one’s mother is bad. Avenging one’s father is good. So which is it?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Orestes runs to Athens to seek help from Athena. There the goddess of wisdom brokers a deal to satisfy all parties: Apollo, the Furies, Orestes, justice, and the good of the city.
The Furies vociferously accuse Orestes and Athena weights the options. On the one hand, Orestes avenged his father’s murder, an act of filial piety and justice. On the other hand, as the Furies insist: he killed his own mother.
Unsure of how to adjudicate the case, she tells Orestes and the Furies:
My contestants,
summon your trusted witnesses and proofs,
your defenders under oath to help your cause.
And I will pick the finest men of Athens,
return and decide the issue fairly, truly —
bound to our oaths, our spirits bent on justice.
Rather than endless revenge in the name of justice, Athena proposes trial by jury. Orestes is acquitted and she convinces the Furies that justice through reason is superior to justice through rage and revenge. Not that the Furies and their rage are unimportant. Angry about crime and injustice is great good. But fury has its place and the Furies are, in a sense, domesticated. They become the Eumenides, “the Kindly Ones” whose energy rather than causing an endless cycle of revenge draws a people together in the pursuit of evenhanded justice and the common good.
A Parable for Our Age
As I read The Oresteia and as I interviewed my Wyoming Catholic College colleague Dr. Pavlos Papadopolous for the college’s After Dinner Scholar podcast, I couldn’t help thinking of the story as a parable for our age.
Digital lynchings on Twitter are commonplace. It’s nearly impossible to win a defamation of character lawsuit. Attacks on visiting scholars at colleges are hardly news any more. Vengeance and revenge are back in force.
And vengeful anger in our politics is especially shocking and damaging. Words about revenge by those sworn to uphold our system of justice can only help normalize a culture of vengeance, something Aeschylus and the Athenians had the good sense to reject 2,500 years ago.
Dr. James Tonkowich, a senior contributor to The Stream, is a freelance writer, speaker and commentator on spirituality, religion and public life. He is the author of The Liberty Threat: The Attack on Religious Freedom in America Today and Pears, Grapes, and Dates: A Good Life After Mid-Life. Jim serves as Director of Distance Learning at Wyoming Catholic College and is host of the college’s weekly podcast, “The After Dinner Scholar.”


thestream--2020-03-17--Military Photo of the Day: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

New York Army National Guard Soldiers march in the annual St. Patrick ’ s Day Parade in New York City @ @ @ @ @ .
While this year ’ s parades in New York and most other cities have @ @ @ @ @ to coronavirus fears , that won ’ t stop millions of Americans from celebrating .
@ @ @ @ @ Day !
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
@ @ @ @

New York Army National Guard Soldiers march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City on March 16, 2019.
While this year’s parades in New York and most other cities have been postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus fears, that won’t stop millions of Americans from celebrating. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.


thestream--2020-03-17--The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Isn ’ t it amazing how so much of our world has changed so dramatically , almost overnight ?
How the new normal has suddenly replaced the old normal ?
How everything is in a state of flux ?
All this makes us realize how some predicted scenarios that seemed outlandish yesterday don ’ t seem that farfetched today .
As a kid , I remember watching the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still .
As described on Wikipedia , “ The film ’ s storyline involves a humanoid alien visitor named Klaatu that comes to Earth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Gort , to deliver an important message that will affect the entire human race.
” Yes , those were the names , and this was the plot .
Yet , “ In 1995 , the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as ‘ culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant.
’ ” ( As I understand it , the 2008 remake did not have the appeal of the original . )
Klaatu has an interplanetary message for earth , which has developed weapons of mass destruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ join us and live in peace , or pursue your present course and face obliteration .
We shall be waiting for your answer.
” And to underscore this message , the aliens freeze life on planet earth for a day .
Everything comes to a standstill .
Obviously , we are not at that point today .
( I don ’ t mean with aliens like Klaatu and Gort ; I mean with a total standstill . )
But there is no denying that we are living in unprecedented times , with leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 10 people , and almost everything else is on hold .
Pastor and evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne had this to say about the crisis .
Whether or not you agree with his larger , conspiratorial perspective , what he writes is striking : I hold in my hands the Rockefeller organization document , which was published in 2010 .
Here is the script that we met today .
What is happening now is not an accident ; everything was planned .
Bill Gates talked about the pandemic four years ago .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Technology and International Development , ’ 53 pages .
It says here that the result of this scenario will be : ‘ 20 percent of the world ’ s population will be infected .
People ’ s mobility will be blocked , airports will be closed .
Sports events will be canceled , shops closed , theaters closed , churches astounded .
A pandemic will produce shortages , including disinfectants and toilet paper .
If people refuse the vaccine , they will not be allowed to travel .
Political assemblies will be illegal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Martial law will be introduced and the new global control system will come into effect .
People around the world will be open to sharing their security rights.
’ And then this : “ What is written in the book of Revelation is printed .
Globalists lead us to a single government , a single monetary system and the coming of antichrist .
And I believe that God raised Trump to suspend it.
” Again , whether or not you accept Howard-Browne ’ s larger concerns about the emergence of a one-world government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s easy to see how something like this could happen .
In fact , it ’ s far easier to imagine something like this now than it was one month ago .
Everything has shifted on a dime .
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
Support The Stream » From distant reports of a virus in Wuhan to no sports events .
To schools closing .
Restaurants closing .
Thousands of flights being cancelled .
Nations closing their borders .
Public gatherings prohibited .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stock markets .
Hundreds of millions of people wondering how they are going to be able to pay their bills .
On and on and it goes .
And , to repeat , it happened virtually overnight .
There are several things we can learn from this .
What We Can Learn First , nothing is guaranteed in this world .
Not our next breath .
Not the future of a nation .
Everything can be shaken .
One day we ’ re thinking about what sports event to watch .
The next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to feed our families .
Or how to care for our elderly sick .
Second , God can suddenly get the attention of the world .
People who never thought of praying will start to pray .
Carnal concerns will be replaced by eternal issues .
Life and death questions will be asked .
Third , it does not take much to change the international order , with one nation rising and another collapsing .
The balance of power could shift .
Economic trends could be reversed .
Fourth , we can more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have to choose between the true Christ and the Antichrist .
Between God ’ s order and the world ’ s order .
Between Spirit and flesh .
Really now , if the coronavirus could bring about such rapid change around the world , what of a much more serious crisis ?
Personally , I expect life to go “ back to normal ” in the not too distant future .
( This is not a prophecy ; it is my personal opinion . )
But I do believe we need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the crisis — and learn some serious lessons .
“ Normal life ” may return for America and the nations .
But God ’ s people should give careful thought to their ways , being determined more than ever to live lives that make sense in the light of eternity .
Like Klaatu and Gort in the sci-fi classic , the Lord is getting our attention .
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is Jezebel ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Destroy Our Country and What We Can Do to Turn the Tide .
Connect with him on Facebook , Twitter or YouTube .

Isn’t it amazing how so much of our world has changed so dramatically, almost overnight? How the new normal has suddenly replaced the old normal? How everything is in a state of flux? All this makes us realize how some predicted scenarios that seemed outlandish yesterday don’t seem that farfetched today.
As a kid, I remember watching the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. As described on Wikipedia, “The film’s storyline involves a humanoid alien visitor named Klaatu that comes to Earth, accompanied by a powerful eight-foot tall robot, Gort, to deliver an important message that will affect the entire human race.”
Yes, those were the names, and this was the plot. Yet, “In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’” (As I understand it, the 2008 remake did not have the appeal of the original.)
Klaatu has an interplanetary message for earth, which has developed weapons of mass destruction: “Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer.”
And to underscore this message, the aliens freeze life on planet earth for a day. Everything comes to a standstill.
Living in Unprecedented Times
Obviously, we are not at that point today. (I don’t mean with aliens like Klaatu and Gort; I mean with a total standstill.) But there is no denying that we are living in unprecedented times, with leaders in America and Israel discouraging gatherings of more than 10 people, and almost everything else is on hold.
Pastor and evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne had this to say about the crisis. Whether or not you agree with his larger, conspiratorial perspective, what he writes is striking:
I talked about what is coming, more than ten years. The people in our church are ready for this. Therefore, nothing of what is happening now is a surprise to me. Every god of America has fallen — sports have fallen, Hollywood has fallen, television shows canceled. Even the god of some mega churches fell, these churches are empty today. I have warned for years that churches will disappear in one night.
He continues,
I hold in my hands the Rockefeller organization document, which was published in 2010. Here is the script that we met today. What is happening now is not an accident; everything was planned. Bill Gates talked about the pandemic four years ago. The document is called ‘Scenarios for Future Technology and International Development,’ 53 pages. It says here that the result of this scenario will be: ‘20 percent of the world’s population will be infected. People’s mobility will be blocked, airports will be closed. Sports events will be canceled, shops closed, theaters closed, churches astounded. A pandemic will produce shortages, including disinfectants and toilet paper. If people refuse the vaccine, they will not be allowed to travel. Political assemblies will be illegal, public protests will be banned. Martial law will be introduced and the new global control system will come into effect. People around the world will be open to sharing their security rights.’
And then this: “What is written in the book of Revelation is printed. Globalists lead us to a single government, a single monetary system and the coming of antichrist. And I believe that God raised Trump to suspend it.”
Everything Has Shifted
Again, whether or not you accept Howard-Browne’s larger concerns about the emergence of a one-world government as a result of the pandemic, it’s easy to see how something like this could happen. In fact, it’s far easier to imagine something like this now than it was one month ago. Everything has shifted on a dime.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
From distant reports of a virus in Wuhan to no sports events. To schools closing. Restaurants closing. Thousands of flights being cancelled. Nations closing their borders. Public gatherings prohibited. Weddings postponed. Massive crashes in the stock markets. Hundreds of millions of people wondering how they are going to be able to pay their bills. On and on and it goes. And, to repeat, it happened virtually overnight.
There are several things we can learn from this.
What We Can Learn
First, nothing is guaranteed in this world. Not our next breath. Not the future of a nation. Everything can be shaken. One day we’re thinking about what sports event to watch. The next day we’re wondering about how to feed our families. Or how to care for our elderly sick.
Second, God can suddenly get the attention of the world. People who never thought of praying will start to pray. Carnal concerns will be replaced by eternal issues. Life and death questions will be asked.
Third, it does not take much to change the international order, with one nation rising and another collapsing. The balance of power could shift. Economic trends could be reversed.
Fourth, we can more easily envision the day when the world will have to choose between the true Christ and the Antichrist. Between God’s order and the world’s order. Between Spirit and flesh. Really now, if the coronavirus could bring about such rapid change around the world, what of a much more serious crisis?
‘Normal Life’
Personally, I expect life to go “back to normal” in the not too distant future. (This is not a prophecy; it is my personal opinion.)
But I do believe we need to do some serious reflecting in the midst of the crisis — and learn some serious lessons.
“Normal life” may return for America and the nations. But God’s people should give careful thought to their ways, being determined more than ever to live lives that make sense in the light of eternity.
Like Klaatu and Gort in the sci-fi classic, the Lord is getting our attention.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Jezebel’s War With America: The Plot to Destroy Our Country and What We Can Do to Turn the Tide. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-03-17--Will We Be Human? Or Animals Feeding Off Each Other?

Have you ever wondered what kind of human being you really are ?
What kind of society we are together ?
COVID19 may tell you .
This pandemic gives us the opportunity to come together as communities and support each other .
Or as early indications show , we can adopt the mentality of every man for himself .
Do we horde or price-gouge essential supplies such as hand sanitizers , toilet paper , and food — all things other people need too ?
Do we strip grocery store shelves empty so that others not so quick off the mark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took a U-Haul across Tennessee and Kentucky snapping up all the hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes from every store .
He wanted to make what he called “ crazy money , ” and jack up the price as high as possible to sell to people in desperate need of them .
Another man near Edmonton , Canada , scooped up all the children ’ s thermometers at Costco .
Then he bragged how much profit he was going to make .
Really ?
Are we part of a community or animals in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
This is not right .
But I should not have been so surprised how quickly my culture can descend .
We already embrace personal autonomy .
I , me , mine .
For almost fifty years we have legally killed children before birth who were inconvenient to our lifestyles or personal ambitions .
Now our demand for personal autonomy and self-determination have brought medically assisted suicide to many countries throughout the world , including some American states and my country of Canada .
Abortion , euthanasia and “ assisted suicide ” cross @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all weaken the foundations of interdependent community .
If I can kill you or help you die , why should I treat you as a full member of the human community ?
Why should you care about me ?
Why should I share my life and goods with you , or you me ?
No reason at all .
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
Support The Stream » You can not have interdependent community and personal autonomy .
They are diametrically opposed .
You must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have made the wrong choice for over four decades .
But we can change .
Our societies must change .
We can reject personal autonomy and independence and embrace interdependence .
We are inter-connected and responsible for each others ’ well being , because every person bears the indelible image of God .
Words like family , neighbor , community and nation attest to our interdependence .
Our Better Selves Every generation is confronted with the most ancient question : “ Am I my brother ’ s keeper ?
” The first person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lie to God about his murdering his brother .
But it ’ s a very good question .
God ’ s answer is “ Yes.
” As Jesus , “ As you did unto the least of these , you did to me.
” Are you your brother ’ s keeper ?
Your answer to that question will govern how you behave toward others .
If you ascribe to the principle “ Do unto others as you would have them do unto you , ” then you ascribe to the Golden Rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one aspect of that rule .
It teaches the principle of mutual interdependence .
We want people to care for us and come to our aid .
Therefore we should care for others and come to their aid .
And that brings me back to the current situation confronting the world with COVID19 .
We must rise to our better selves .
We have simple ways to do that .
If you are sick or symptomatic , isolate yourself for the required two weeks .
Buy only those items that your family needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everybody needs .
Help neighbors who can not get out to acquire what they need .
Heed public health directions in a rapidly evolving pandemic .
And spend more time praying for the sick , for those with risk factors , the doctors and nurses who work tirelessly to heal them , the pastors who care for them , the officials tasked with guiding us through this .
No matter how desperate things may become , remember that God is with us .
That means we need to be with each other .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We are our brother ’ s keeper .
Let us use COVID19 as an opportunity to show our children and grandchildren this life principle for now and the future .

Have you ever wondered what kind of human being you really are? What kind of society we are together? COVID-19 may tell you.
This pandemic gives us the opportunity to come together as communities and support each other. Or as early indications show, we can adopt the mentality of every man for himself. Do we horde or price-gouge essential supplies such as hand sanitizers, toilet paper, and food — all things other people need too? Do we strip grocery store shelves empty so that others not so quick off the mark have nothing?
A man from Tennessee took a U-Haul across Tennessee and Kentucky snapping up all the hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes from every store. He wanted to make what he called “crazy money,” and jack up the price as high as possible to sell to people in desperate need of them. Another man near Edmonton, Canada, scooped up all the children’s thermometers at Costco. Then he bragged how much profit he was going to make.
Really? Are we part of a community or animals in a jungle of animals feeding off each other?
Not Right
This is not right. But I should not have been so surprised how quickly my culture can descend. We already embrace personal autonomy. I, me, mine.
For almost fifty years we have legally killed children before birth who were inconvenient to our lifestyles or personal ambitions. Now our demand for personal autonomy and self-determination have brought medically assisted suicide to many countries throughout the world, including some American states and my country of Canada. Abortion, euthanasia and “assisted suicide” cross a long-held taboo against murder. They all weaken the foundations of interdependent community.
If I can kill you or help you die, why should I treat you as a full member of the human community? Why should you care about me? Why should I share my life and goods with you, or you me? No reason at all.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
You cannot have interdependent community and personal autonomy. They are diametrically opposed. You must choose one. Unfortunately, our societies have made the wrong choice for over four decades. But we can change. Our societies must change. We can reject personal autonomy and independence and embrace interdependence.
We are inter-connected and responsible for each others’ well being, because every person bears the indelible image of God. Words like family, neighbor, community and nation attest to our interdependence.
Our Better Selves
Every generation is confronted with the most ancient question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The first person to ask that was a murderer trying to lie to God about his murdering his brother. But it’s a very good question. God’s answer is “Yes.” As Jesus, “As you did unto the least of these, you did to me.”
Are you your brother’s keeper? Your answer to that question will govern how you behave toward others.
If you ascribe to the principle “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” then you ascribe to the Golden Rule. We don’t always remember one aspect of that rule. It teaches the principle of mutual interdependence. We want people to care for us and come to our aid. Therefore we should care for others and come to their aid.
And that brings me back to the current situation confronting the world with COVID19. We must rise to our better selves. We have simple ways to do that. If you are sick or symptomatic, isolate yourself for the required two weeks. Buy only those items that your family needs and don’t horde essential items everybody needs. Help neighbors who cannot get out to acquire what they need. Heed public health directions in a rapidly evolving pandemic. And spend more time praying for the sick, for those with risk factors, the doctors and nurses who work tirelessly to heal them, the pastors who care for them, the officials tasked with guiding us through this.
No matter how desperate things may become, remember that God is with us. That means we need to be with each other. Answer Yes to Cain’s question. We are our brother’s keeper. Let us use COVID19 as an opportunity to show our children and grandchildren this life principle for now and the future.
Mark Davis Pickup is a Canadian pro-life activist. You can read more of his thoughts and story at his blog, Human Life Matters. For more on his life, see Nancy Flory’s profile, Man With Severe MS Walks Again. See also her interview with him about his pro-life work, Fighting Euthanasia.


thestream--2020-03-17--Why the Remedy May Be Worse Than the Disease

As of this writing , 6,400 people all over the world have died from the coronavirus .
In the United States , 68 people have died .
Chinese deaths ( 3,217 ) account for half of the worldwide total .
If you add Italy ( 1,441 ) and Iran ( 724 ) , two countries where many Chinese were allowed in until recently , that totals another 2,165 .
In other words , outside of China , Italy and Iran — with 5,382 deaths collectively — 1,018 people have died .
There are 7.8 billion people in the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 16 reported that according to Nobel Prize-winning chemist Michael Levitt , “ Italy ’ s higher death rate was likely due to the fact that elderly people make up a greater percentage of the population than they do in other countries such as China or France.
” As former CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson further explained : “ Italy has the oldest population in Europe and more elderly per capita than the U.S .
Most of the Italian deaths are in patients in their 80s and 90s .
In addition , Italy has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Italy was the first to join China ’ s ‘ silk road ’ economic partnership project … ( Italy ’ s ) deaths are out of a population of 60 million people.
” Regarding Iran , the Wall Street Journal reported on March 11 : Meanwhile , President Donald Trump announced a ban on flights from China on Jan. 31 — for which he was denounced by leading Democrats and throughout the left .
The very next day , presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden declared , “ This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record of hysteria and xenophobia — hysterical xenophobia — and fearmongering.
” On Feb. 2 , the American Civil Liberties Union announced , “ These measures are extraordinary incursions on liberty and fly in the face of considerable evidence that travel bans and quarantines can do more harm than good.
” The current consensus favors near total social isolation , or “ social distancing , ” as it is now called .
The thinking is that we must shut down the Western world to prevent the exponential growth of the virus .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems will be overwhelmed .
Many thousands , maybe more , would die , as doctors have to make grisly triage decisions as to who gets care and who doesn ’ t .
This latter scenario is reported to have already happened in Italy .
Though there is no longer an exponential growth in the United States , they may otherwise be right .
Is This Thinking Correct ?
The Truth is We Don ’ t Know .
We have no idea how many people carry the COVID-19 coronavirus .
Therefore , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are completely unknown .
Perhaps millions of people have the virus and nothing serious develops , in which case we would have rates of death similar to ( or even below ) the flu virus .
On the other hand , perhaps not many people carry the virus , but the rates of illness demanding intensive care and of death are much greater than those of the flu .
We can only be certain that shutting down virtually every part of society will result in a large number of people economically ruined , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building a restaurant or some other small business destroyed .
As if that were not bad enough , the ancillary effects would include increased depression and divorce and other personal tragedies .
The effects of closing schools for weeks or months will include family chaos , vast numbers of bored young people , health care providers who will have to stay home and more .
Yet young people are the least likely people to become ill from the virus .
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Disease Control and Prevention released this statement regarding closing schools : But the longer-term ripple effects are potentially far worse .
Economic disasters rarely remain only economic disasters .
To give a particularly dramatic example , the Nazis came to power because of economics more than any other single reason , including Germany ’ s defeat in World War I , the Versailles Treaty or anti-Semitism .
Nazi success at the polls was almost entirely related to the Weimar economy .
Communist parties don ’ t fare well in robust economies , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are in dire economic straits .
Only God knows what economic dislocation the shutting down of American and other Western economies will lead to .
I am not predicting a Nazi or communist ascendancy , but economic and political disaster may be as likely , or even more likely , than a health disaster .
But here is a prediction : If the government can order society to cease functioning , from restaurants and other businesses to schools , due to a possible health disaster , it is highly likely that a Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and assert authoritarian rule in order to prevent what they consider the even greater “ existential threat ” to human life posed by global warming .
The dam has been broken .
Maybe it was necessary .
But when dams break , flooding follows .
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist .
His latest book , published by Regnery in May 2019 , is The Rational Bible , a commentary on the book of Genesis .
His film , “ No Safe Spaces , ” came to theaters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com .

As of this writing, 6,400 people all over the world have died from the coronavirus. In the United States, 68 people have died.
Some perspective:
Chinese deaths (3,217) account for half of the worldwide total. If you add Italy (1,441) and Iran (724), two countries where many Chinese were allowed in until recently, that totals another 2,165. In other words, outside of China, Italy and Iran — with 5,382 deaths collectively — 1,018 people have died. There are 7.8 billion people in the world.
Regarding Italy, the Jerusalem Post of March 16 reported that according to Nobel Prize-winning chemist Michael Levitt, “Italy’s higher death rate was likely due to the fact that elderly people make up a greater percentage of the population than they do in other countries such as China or France.” As former CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson further explained: “Italy has the oldest population in Europe and more elderly per capita than the U.S. Most of the Italian deaths are in patients in their 80s and 90s. In addition, Italy has a great number of direct China contacts. Italy was the first to join China’s ‘silk road’ economic partnership project … (Italy’s) deaths are out of a population of 60 million people.”
Regarding Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 11:
Iranian officials trace the origins of the country’s coronavirus epidemic to the holy city of Qom, home to … a number of Chinese-backed infrastructure projects built by scores of workers and technicians from China … “(China has) turned into a very toxic bomb,” said Sanam Vakil, deputy Middle East director at Chatham House, a think tank in London.
The Western World
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced a ban on flights from China on Jan. 31 — for which he was denounced by leading Democrats and throughout the left. The very next day, presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden declared, “This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia — hysterical xenophobia — and fearmongering.” On Feb. 2, the American Civil Liberties Union announced, “These measures are extraordinary incursions on liberty and fly in the face of considerable evidence that travel bans and quarantines can do more harm than good.”
The current consensus favors near total social isolation, or “social distancing,” as it is now called. The thinking is that we must shut down the Western world to prevent the exponential growth of the virus. If we don’t, our hospital systems will be overwhelmed. Many thousands, maybe more, would die, as doctors have to make grisly triage decisions as to who gets care and who doesn’t. This latter scenario is reported to have already happened in Italy.
Though there is no longer an exponential growth in the United States, they may otherwise be right.
Is This Thinking Correct? The Truth is We Don’t Know.
We have no idea how many people carry the COVID-19 coronavirus. Therefore, the rates of either critical illness or death are completely unknown. Perhaps millions of people have the virus and nothing serious develops, in which case we would have rates of death similar to (or even below) the flu virus. On the other hand, perhaps not many people carry the virus, but the rates of illness demanding intensive care and of death are much greater than those of the flu.
We can only be certain that shutting down virtually every part of society will result in a large number of people economically ruined, life savings depleted, decades of work building a restaurant or some other small business destroyed. As if that were not bad enough, the ancillary effects would include increased depression and divorce and other personal tragedies. The effects of closing schools for weeks or months will include family chaos, vast numbers of bored young people, health care providers who will have to stay home and more. Yet young people are the least likely people to become ill from the virus.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this statement regarding closing schools:
Available modeling data indicate … that other mitigation efforts (e.g., handwashing, home isolation) have more impact on both spread of disease and health care measures. In other countries, those places who (sic) closed school (e.g., Hong Kong) have not had more success in reducing spread than those that did not (e.g., Singapore).
Economical Concerns
But the longer-term ripple effects are potentially far worse. Economic disasters rarely remain only economic disasters. To give a particularly dramatic example, the Nazis came to power because of economics more than any other single reason, including Germany’s defeat in World War I, the Versailles Treaty or anti-Semitism. Nazi success at the polls was almost entirely related to the Weimar economy. Communist parties don’t fare well in robust economies, but they’re very tempting when people are in dire economic straits. Only God knows what economic dislocation the shutting down of American and other Western economies will lead to. I am not predicting a Nazi or communist ascendancy, but economic and political disaster may be as likely, or even more likely, than a health disaster.
But here is a prediction: If the government can order society to cease functioning, from restaurants and other businesses to schools, due to a possible health disaster, it is highly likely that a Democratic president and Congress will similarly declare emergency and assert authoritarian rule in order to prevent what they consider the even greater “existential threat” to human life posed by global warming.
The dam has been broken. Maybe it was necessary. But when dams break, flooding follows.
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in May 2019, is The Rational Bible, a commentary on the book of Genesis. His film, “No Safe Spaces,” came to theaters fall 2019. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM


thestream--2020-03-17--These Five Catholic Dioceses Have Not Suspended Masses

Catholic dioceses in the United States continue to cancel masses and lift the usual Sunday mass obligation for parishioners , but several dioceses across the country have yet to do so .
The Catholic dioceses and archdiocese of Galveston-Houston ; Miami ; St. Paul , Minneapolis ; Indianapolis and Oklahoma City had not canceled masses or suspended services as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday , according to data compiled by Archdiocese of Chicago employee Michael Bayer .
Bayer noted that the Archdiocese of Mobile , Alabama , home to the Eternal World Television Network ( EWTN ) , has yet to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed that masses have not been canceled in these six archdioceses and dioceses , none of which have yet responded to requests for comment .
Bayer , who said he is on the payroll of the Catholic Church in numerous U.S. dioceses and has served as a member of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Young Adult Advisory Team , compiled information on the archdioceses and dioceses that suspended mass , as well as the archdioceses and dioceses in which mass obligations have been lifted .
This is of note to Catholics , as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every Sunday and that “ those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.
” As of Monday morning , 75 dioceses had suspended mass and 26 archdioceses had suspended mass .
Help us champion truth , freedom , limited government and human dignity .
Support The Stream » “ I believe it is a moral imperative and matter of justice for Catholics to follow the guidance of public health experts to avoid large gatherings , including public celebrations of the Mass , in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Bayer told the DCNF .
“ Catholics , and all Christians , should see this as an opportunity to practice solidarity with all those Christians around the world who do not have regular access to communal worship and the sacraments , for example refugees fleeing war , immunocompromised cancer patients , and elderly homebound , ” he added .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , @ @ @ @ @ @

Catholic dioceses in the United States continue to cancel masses and lift the usual Sunday mass obligation for parishioners, but several dioceses across the country have yet to do so.
The Catholic dioceses and archdiocese of Galveston-Houston; Miami; St. Paul, Minneapolis; Indianapolis and Oklahoma City had not canceled masses or suspended services as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to data compiled by Archdiocese of Chicago employee Michael Bayer. Bayer noted that the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, home to the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN), has yet to cancel.
The Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed that masses have not been canceled in these six archdioceses and dioceses, none of which have yet responded to requests for comment.
Bayer, who said he is on the payroll of the Catholic Church in numerous U.S. dioceses and has served as a member of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Young Adult Advisory Team, compiled information on the archdioceses and dioceses that suspended mass, as well as the archdioceses and dioceses in which mass obligations have been lifted.
This is of note to Catholics, as the Catholic Church requires that parishioners attend mass every Sunday and that “those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”
As of Monday morning, 75 dioceses had suspended mass and 26 archdioceses had suspended mass.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
“I believe it is a moral imperative and matter of justice for Catholics to follow the guidance of public health experts to avoid large gatherings, including public celebrations of the Mass, in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 and limit the loss of human life,” Bayer told the DCNF.
Update: 87 Catholic arch/dioceses in the U.S. have cancelled all public Masses, including most of the largest—NY, LA, Chicago, DC Notably not cancelled are Philly, Galveston-Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City Live Doc: https://t.co/NRBuAMfpSG pic.twitter.com/cuJI1kvknc — Michael Bayer (@mbayer1248) March 17, 2020
“Catholics, and all Christians, should see this as an opportunity to practice solidarity with all those Christians around the world who do not have regular access to communal worship and the sacraments, for example refugees fleeing war, immunocompromised cancer patients, and elderly homebound,” he added.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].