The Democrat Mayor of St. Louis Lyda Krewson has ordered, starting November 17th, 2020 and in effect for four weeks, another lockdown. This lockdown’s new rules, which took effect 12:01 a.m., require:
Anyone over the age of 5 to wear a mask in public.
Bars and restaurants to no longer offer indoor dining.
Businesses, gyms and religious institutions to operate at no more than 25% capacity, down from 50%.
All gatherings to be limited to 10 or fewer people.
Club teams to submit plans to the county’s health department, though youth sports tied to schools can continue to play.
This is happening across America in cities, counties and states run by Democrats.
There are Democratic politicians calling for their city or state to lockdown for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Michigan’s and California’s governors have done the same. Biden and Harris have called for similar measures.
WATCH: Democrat Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer presser on Thanksgiving shutdown:
This is all happening while we have a 99% recovery rate from Covid and two pharmaceutical companies are shipping out a Covid vaccine. This false idea of a “lockdown” hurts people more than the virus. Lockdowns are a willful imposition of control of citizens by Democrats. It is nothing more than a power grab using the excuse of a pandemic. It is designed to create fear and then impose tyranny.
EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLApic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2020-11-17 11:23:052021-10-07 21:20:45Unmask America Now. Stop the Lockdowns. Enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year Day!
Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced new restrictions Sunday evening meant to combat the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
The restrictions, which begin Wednesday and extend through the end of November, include the closing of high schools, colleges, indoor dining, casinos, and movie theaters, Whitmer said in a press conference Sunday.
Michigan has recorded record amounts of virus cases in the past week, raising the state’s seven-day average of daily new cases to 6,200, resulting in spikes in hospitalizations and deaths across the state as well, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Whitmer said the state had “smashed the curve” through measures early in the pandemic, but the winter months could be more difficult.
“As hard as those first months were for our state, these next few are going to be even harder,” Whitmer said at the press conference.
Whitmer said that coronavirus models show “that if we don’t take aggressive action right now, we could soon see 1,000 deaths per week here in Michigan.”
>>> What’s the best way for America to reopen and return to business? The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, a project of The Heritage Foundation, assembled America’s top thinkers to figure that out. So far, it has made more than 260 recommendations. Learn more here.
Though Whitmer had relied on the Michigan’s Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 to enforce earlier coronavirus restrictions, the state’s Supreme Courtruled her actions unconstitutional in October. Whitmer had relied on the law to enforce her restrictions since the Republican-led state Legislature had refused to extend Michigan’s state of emergency in April, according to the Free Press.
Despite the 4-3 ruling, Whitmer has still been able to enforce a statewide mask mandate in crowded and indoor settings and capacities for bars and restaurants, relying on a Michigan Public Health Code, the Free Press reported.
What we know: Michigan halts face-to-face instruction for high schools, colleges as COVID-19 cases spike https://t.co/wKfyP9CtXt
Whitmer’s restrictions are only the latest from local and state officials across the country in an effort to curb the virus’ spread. Governors in New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and more have adopted some type of restrictions in recent days, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently announced a citywide stay-at-home order.
Whitmer to public: 'Double down' & take precautions so 'we can avoid a stay-home order'
The U.S. has recorded over 100,000 daily coronavirus cases every day since Election Day, with a record high 180,000 reported Saturday. The U.S. also surpassed 11 million cases over the weekend, and is approaching 250,000 virus deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.
Andrew Trunsky is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
RELATED TWEET:
Biden, just now: "The only reason people question the vaccine is because of Donald Trump." Harris, last month: "If Donald Trump tells us to take it, I’m not taking it."
New research shows that domestic violence surged during quarantine.
The unintended consequences of the COVID-19 lockdowns have been severe: mass unemployment, increased drug overdoses and suicides, and widespread social unrest are but a few of them.
On Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research released a paper detailing another: increased domestic violence.
Analyzing government-mandated lockdowns in India, researchers Saravana Ravindran and Manisha Shah found evidence of a 131 percent increase in complaints of domestic violence in May 2020 in “red zone districts,” or districts that experienced the strictest lockdown measures, relative to districts that had less strict measures (“green zones”).
The researchers, who used a difference-in-differences empirical strategy, found the increase in domestic violence complaints was consistent with a surge in Google search activity for terms related to domestic violence over the same period.
The authors’ findings “contribute to a growing literature on the impacts of lockdowns and stay-at-home policies on violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The findings, which also found a decline in reported sexual assaults because of decreased mobility, are similar to those from research that found lockdowns led to a 100 percent increase in intimate partner violence calls in Mexico City. A study analyzing data from police departments in four US cities showed smaller increases in domestic violence, 10-27 percent, during lockdown periods.
Globally about one-third of women experience “intimate partner violence” (IPV), which negatively impacts female earnings, labor participation, earnings, mental health, and household consumption.
Unseen Costs of Lockdowns
The global increase in domestic violence during the lockdown period has received relatively little attention, though CNN recently reported on the increase south of the US border.
In Mexico, federal lawmakers shut down most of its economy on March 23, urging people to stay indoors. Activists told the network the action spurred “an onslaught of domestic violence,” and data show 911 calls for domestic violence are up 44 percent from the same time the previous year.
“The lockdowns triggered violence in so many ways,” Perla Acosta Galindo, Director of Más Sueños A.C., a women’s community center, told CNN. “People can’t work, there’s alcoholism, overcrowding; it’s a lot.”
Lockdowns Are Destructive
To some degree, the COVID pandemic has been portrayed as a morality play. Some would have you believe those who care about people support lockdowns; those who don’t care about people oppose them. We’re presented with false choices: we can support the economy or protect American lives.
These types of arguments only serve to divide. They can also obscure a basic truth: there are human costs to lockdowns, besides the economic ones, that can ravage lives just as badly as any disease.
The Washington Post, for example, recently reported on ”a hidden epidemic within the coronavirus pandemic”: drug overdoses. One Ohio coroner said he can’t process the bodies fast enough.
“We’ve literally run out of wheeled carts to put them on,” Anahi Ortiz told the paper.
Statistics suggest the trend is national in scope. Data from the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program show that overdoses were up 18 percent in March, 29 percent in April, and 42 percent in May from the same periods the previous year.
These statistics should come as no surprise. Social scientists have been writing about the deadly consequences of social isolation for years.
Social isolation is also linked to suicide. While there is no comprehensive 2020 data on suicides, anecdotal evidence suggests many are struggling to cope with quarantine life. In May, during the peak of the lockdowns, one California doctor told local media his hospital has seen “a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks.”
Recognizing That Lockdowns Have Victims
As the French economist Frédéric Bastiat stressed, every policy, “produces not only one effect, but a series of effects.” The immediate and intended effects are what he calls “the seen,” while the indirect, unintended consequences are “the unseen.” “The seen” usually gets all the attention, while “the unseen” often goes neglected.
In this case, “the seen” are the victims of the virus and those who hopefully avoid spreading or catching the disease because of the lockdowns. They are, without a doubt, worthy of our care and attention.
But we also must not ignore “the unseen”: the millions of human beings who, as a result of the lockdowns, have become victims of domestic violence, drug overdoses, depression, suicide, and more.
As Antony Davies and James Harrigan wrote, “The uncomfortable truth is that no policy can save lives; it can only trade lives.” It may one day be determined that the lockdowns saved more lives than they destroyed, although recent evidence suggests the correlation between lockdown severity and COVID-19 deaths is weak. But let’s not underestimate the devastating human toll of this policy.
The lives ruined or snuffed out by the lockdowns deserve better than that. They deserve to be seen.
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune. Bylines: Newsweek, The Washington Times, MSN.com, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, the Epoch Times.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFoundation for Economic Education (FEE)2020-11-12 14:11:132021-10-07 21:20:56Domestic Violence More Than Doubled Under Lockdowns, New Study Finds
One retracted study does not prove anything about the effectiveness of masks. Nevertheless, Americans should be wary of sweeping mandates that would use local police to enforce a federal initiative.
Astudy showing that more than a thousand counties in the US saw COVID-19 hospitalizations decrease after passing mask mandates has been withdrawn.
The study, published on October 23 on the medical site medRxiv, had alleged that hospitalizations for COVID-19 decreased in 1,083 US counties after lawmakers passed mask mandates.
The article was updated on November 4.
“The authors have withdrawn this manuscript because there are increased rates of SARS- CoV-2 cases in the areas that we originally analyzed in this study,” the updated abstract reads. “New analyses in the context of the third surge in the United States are therefore needed and will be undertaken directly in conjunction with the creators of the publicly-available databases on cases, hospitalizations, testing rates.”
A study showing that 1,000+ counties in US saw #Covid_19 hospitalizations fall after passing mask mandates has been retracted.
“The authors have withdrawn this manuscript because there are increased rates of SARS-CoV-2 cases in the areas that we originally analyzed…" pic.twitter.com/0s9EdLqCz3
The use of face masks has become an increasingly polarizing topic in the US.
The effectiveness of masks has been a subject of debate, at least in part because public health officials have sent mixed messages. Early in the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Surgeon General, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading member of the Trump administration’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, all advised against using a mask in public if you were healthy.
Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk! https://t.co/UxZRwxxKL9
While the WHO, the Surgeon General, and Fauci eventually modified their position, some of Europe’s top health officials have continued to resist calls to mandate or even recommend the use of masks to slow the spread of COVID-19, saying there is little empirical evidence to suggest they have a positive impact.
“The studies so far have not shown a dramatic effect, countries such as France and others, which have obligatory mask-wearing in place, have still experienced a big spread of the disease,” Dr. Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s top infectious disease expert, recently observed.
One retracted study is hardly enough to prove Tegnell and other European health officials are right. But it is likely to fuel debate surrounding the ethics of forcing individuals to wear masks, which some argue is a violation of the Principle of Effectiveness, which states public health agencies are only allowed to recommend interventions they know are effective.
It’s also worth pointing out that masks were not initially controversial. Many Americans began wearing masks in public at the onset of the pandemic. Masks did not become polarizing until governments began mandating their use, which has at times resulted in violent confrontations.
In May, for example, a 22-year-old mother who was not wearing a face covering was wrestled to the ground by New York City police in front of her child after allegedly refusing to comply with requests to cover her nose and mouth.
The encounter prompted the city to end the practice of arresting people for not wearing masks.
The woman, Kaleemah Rozier, announced in June she is suing the city for $10 million for excessive force.
The Perils of Force
Rozier’s case offers an example of the unintended consequences of mask mandates. While the obvious goal of mask mandates is more citizens wearing masks, which may slow the spread of the virus, an unintended consequence is increased interactions between citizens and police.
This is something Americans should keep in mind as we prepare for the possibility of a new presidency. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently projected to win the White House, has said he will “go to every governor and urge them to mandate mask wearing in their states. And if they refuse I’ll go to the mayors and county executives and get local masking requirements in place nationwide.”
Putting aside the troubling thought of nationalizing local police to enforce a federal initiative, this policy would almost certainly lead to a national surge in confrontations between citizens and law enforcement officials.
This would be a mistake. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that even seemingly routine encounters between citizens and law enforcement can quickly turn deadly.
The possibility of unintended consequences is not mere conjecture. As economist Antony Davies and political scientist James Harrigan have pointed out, when it comes to sweeping federal policies, unintended consequences are not the exception, they are the rule.
“Unintended consequences arise every time an authority imposes its will on people. Seat belt and airbag laws make it less safe to be a pedestrian or cyclist by making it safer for drivers to be less cautious,” they wrote in an article on the Cobra Effect. “Payday lending laws, intended to protect low-income borrowers from high lending rates, make it more expensive for low-income borrowers to borrow by forcing them into even more expensive alternatives.”
This is one of the first lessons of economics. As famed French economist Frédéric Bastiat showed more than a century and a half ago, policymakers must go beyond the initial act or law to see the entire series of effects, to see not just the “small present good,” but the evil that may follow.
Public health researchers should continue to develop sound science that will help individuals make informed decisions on the use of masks. But Americans should be wary of sweeping mandates that would use local police to enforce a federal mask policy, especially when the science is not yet settled.
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune. Bylines: Newsweek, The Washington Times, MSN.com, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, the Epoch Times.
I love my mask. It’s a simple and effective way to display my righteousness. Am I concerned that two children in China died because they were forced to wear a mask in gym class? NOPE! I concerned that I’m contributing to an impending socialist technocracy that will enslave the global population? NO!
Am I concerned that my mask is symbolic of my compliance to the social conditioning that will eventually lead to the forced vaccination of every man, woman, and child on planet earth? Not a chance!
Why am I not concerned you ask?
Because I decided a long time ago that shallow insignificant gestures are a much easier way to showcase my morality than actually being moral.
Because in order to be a really good person, I need to stand up to a really bad person, and I don’t like standing up to or for anything. It’s much easier to trick my mind into thinking compliance is a virtue instead of what it really is, cowardice.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2020-11-04 11:08:222021-10-07 21:17:03VIDEO: Why I Wear My Mask | Welcome to the Masquerade
“Mischief and malice grow on the same branch of the tree of evil.” – Actor Aaron Hill
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.: – I Timothy 6:10
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims… but accomplices.” – George Orwell
“When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” – Euripides
“Evil people always support each other; that is their chief strength.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Today’s headlines read, “Covid Cases Rise to Highest Levels Since July.” The leftwing communist media doesn’t want you to risk voting for Trump! Stay at home, Covid is on the rise again! Just in time for election day, Michigan Governor Whitmer plans another lockdown. But wait, influenza cases hit rock bottom. Huh?
Today’s media are Stalinist to the core. They are prejudicial liars who promote poisonous propaganda to manipulate public opinion. The MSM and Anthony Fauci continue promoting fear and panic despite knowledge that even PCR testing has a very high false positive rate, that 99.98 percent of Americans who get this virus survive with no ill effects, and that your chances of getting and dying of Covid in America are one in 19.1 million if you’re between the ages of 50 – 65. Only six percent of Americans who have died with Covid died strictly from the virus and not from other causes, according to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The highest danger is for the elderly with comorbidities. How many thousands of senior Americans died alone in nursing homes because of five governors who should literally be tried for premeditated murder.
Donald Trump’s presidency has so frightened globalists around the world that they are literally pulling out all the stops to destroy him and the greatest country in the history of the world — the United States. Crashing Trump’s economy, no matter the cost to American citizens has been the democrat’s goal. And Dr. Fauci is in his glory.
Dr. Anthony Fauci praised the Director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as an “outstanding person,” and said the World Health Organization, (WHO) has done very well under his leadership. He has also quoted the Director and China information as fact, Dr. Tedros is a mouthpiece for China. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training has been located at Imperial College London since 2008. And it was Dr. Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx who used Imperial College’s false models to convince President Trump to shut down the entire economy.
Think there was no collusion?
Deep State Loving Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been wrong so many times about Covid that last July, trade adviser Peter Navarro tore into him with a blistering op-ed. Navarro likely recognized Fauci’s ulterior motives…motives that would destroy Trump’s booming economy and reelection chances. President Trump is also tired of hearing from Fauci, and has called Fauci a “disaster.”
Dr. Scott Atlas has disagreed with much of what Fauci has advocated. Atlas is the newest appointee to the White House Coronavirus Task Force. He is a senior fellow in scientific philosophy and public policy at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. In a number of published articles he advocated solutions to Covid-19 very different from Fauci’s. Reports are that outsider Atlas has effectively supplanted Fauci as the president’s key adviser on the issue. He stated that, “Our policy of total isolation involved trade-offs and left a significant problem by endangering the resumption of normal activity.” He has been proven right. Trump has listened.
Fauci was foisted on America as the all-time infectious disease expert by the Chair of the Coronavirus Task Force, Vice President Mike Pence. As if the little weasel wasn’t irritating enough with expounding on his brilliance every day before the American public, we find out half way through the entire nightmare debacle that he loves Hillary Clinton. In his letters to her he lauded her testimony about Benghazi as brilliant. But that’s not all. Fauci is great friend of every socialist democrat in power.
Every year, Jeff Goldberg, the infamous editor of The Atlantic holds their regressive Atlantic Festival of “esteemed” democrat communist leaders. At this year’s four-day-long event Sept. 21–24, the two top highlighted speakers were Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci. Among the other 112 leftists were Nancy Pelosi, Stacey Abrams, Bill Gates, and Marxist BLM co-founder Alicia Garza.
Speaker Chesa Boudin is San Francisco’s district attorney and she happened to have been raised by none other than Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn of Weather Underground fame…also famous for training BLM founders. They took her in when her parents were imprisoned for murder during an armed robbery. Is it any wonder that piles of human feces are everywhere in San Francisco?!
Fauci Funded Research Led to Covid-19
Dr. Peter Breggin reported that Fauci’s National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease (NIAID) within the NIH funded the Wuhan Institute of Virology and led directly to the ability of the Chinese to engineer SARS-CoV-2 ultimately causing the Covid-19 pandemic. For many years, Fauci paid for and encouraged multiple research projects, at least two involving US researchers collaborating in making deadly viruses with China’s notoriously insecure Communist-run biowarfare facility in Wuhan.
Four scientists, led by Li-Meng Yan (MD, PhD), who recently escaped from Communist China, have released a pre-publication paper (follow the paper’s progress here) in which they confirm the direct relationship between the Fauci-funded research and China’s ability to create SARS-CoV-2.
What is more shocking, is that these scientists have confirmed that the military-controlled Wuhan Institute has the world’s largest collection of coronaviruses from bats and this is a future threat for accidental release or biological warfare. Fauci’s funding has put the world at risk. Link
The Chinese state media claimed Coronavirus is a tool to beat Donald Trump. And Fauci was the willing participant in helping China. And as I’ve previously mentioned, Fauci is looking to the United Nations to rebuild the infrastructure of human existence. Oh yes, he’s a hardcore sustainable development technocrat who believes we need to live in harmony with nature by reducing human population and consumption. Fauci is an agent for the communist United Nations and a self-professed social engineer.
Fauci’s ties to George Soros, the Clintons, WHO, Bill Gates and the Big Pharma Mafia should set off alarms across America.
In a previous article, I exposed Fauci’s well-documented and checkered history of not telling the truth, abusing his power and doing sinister things like hiding the leukemia virus which is known to be in three of our largest vaccines which we know cause cancer and he’s hidden it from the American people.
He fired Dr. Judy Mikovitz for her study that showed those vaccines were contaminated. Mikovitz was on the team that identified the HIV virus and connected it to AIDS, and Fauci kept that secret hidden for six months so that he could get one of his cronies to make the publication. Many thousands of people contracted AIDS because the test was delayed for half a year. Please read Dr. Mikovitz’s paper on retroviruses.
Robert Kennedy Jr. doesn’t think much of Dr. Anthony Fauci either. Watch his informative eight-minute video:
Fauci, as head of NIAID, has taken millions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as the Clinton Foundation along with tens of billions from US taxpayers for bogus research via his friend Dr. Gallo who claimed the 1984 PCR test for AIDS was valid. It was endorsed by Fauci, his NIAID, and the CDC. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test detects the genetic information of the virus, the RNA. That’s only possible if the virus is there and someone is actively infected. The tests have proven to be invalid.
Roberto A. Giraldo, MD and Etienne de Harven, MD stated, “None of these tests detect the HIV virus itself, nor do they detect HIV particles.” They add that there are “more than 70 different documented conditions that can cause the antibody tests to react positive without an HIV infection.” Among the false positive cases are influenza, the common cold, leprosy or the existence of pregnancy. The same tests are used today to determine SARS-CoV-2-positive.
In July, 2020, John Solomon of Just the News reported on Fauci’s career being dotted with ethics and safety controversies inside the NIH. His article included the NIAID’s calloused approach, under Fauci’s leadership of using human guinea pigs as test subjects. They were not volunteers. Fauci chose foster children from New York, Illinois, and elsewhere. The children were administered a non-tested AIDS drug without any promises of patient protection. Many of them were not even provided with patient advocates, as required by law, to monitor the children’s health as the drug surged through their veins. As a result of Fauci’s negligence, 10 of the children died. Interestingly enough, Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady heads the Human Subject Research unit at NIH.
Ever heard of negligent homicide?
Fauci has even lauded New York as a Covid-19 success despite the fact that 80,000 senior citizens died in nursing and rehab centers when Covid patients were sent there by Mayor DeBlasio.
Negligent homicide? This looks like downright murder.
Mask Mandates
So many articles have been written about the detrimental effects of wearing face diapers (masks). On October 24th, PJ Media’s Rick Moran wrote that Dr. Anthony Fauci says it might be necessary for Washington to impose a mask mandate on all 50 states, given the worrisome rise in coronavirus cases across the U.S. Fauci made the remarks during an interview on CNN.
In 2008, Dr. Anthony Fauci co-authored a paper about the Spanish Flu Epidemic that rated it as the most devastating modern pandemic. It swept the entire planet in the wake of the First World War and caused millions of deaths.
In studying this major and actual pandemic, what did Dr. Fauci and his colleagues find? They discovered that most of the victims of the Spanish Flu didn’t die from the Spanish Flu. They died from bacterial pneumonia. And the bacterial pneumonia was caused by…. wait for it, wait for it…. wearing masks.
The intention then, as now, was to halt the spread of the disease by wearing masks, but what actually happened was that an “unobserved” pandemic of bacterial pneumonia was unwittingly created instead.
Ever heard of negligent homicide? It’s here and it’s purposeful.
In May, over 600 physicians from “all specialties and from all states” signed a public letter to President Trump describing, not Covid-19, but the lockdowns as a “mass casualty incident.” Since the letter first appeared, the number of doctors signing on has grown into the thousands. Their letter warns:
It is impossible to overstate the short, medium, and long-term harm to people’s health with a continued shutdown. Losing a job is one of life’s most stressful events, and the effect on a person’s health is not lessened because it also has happened to 30 million other people. Keeping schools and universities closed is incalculably detrimental for children, teenagers, and young adults for decades to come. The millions of casualties of a continued shutdown will be hiding in plain sight, but they will be called alcoholism, homelessness, suicide, heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. In youths it will be called financial instability, unemployment, despair, drug addiction, unplanned pregnancies, poverty, and abuse.
Literally thousands of doctors and scientists have come out against Fauci’s lockdowns including a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist, Michael Levitt. The media just doesn’t want you to know. Levitt tweeted, “Thus, the Western World has been encouraged by their lack of responsibility coupled with uncontrolled media and academic errors to commit suicide for an excess burden of death of one month. Surely, we or someone we know can do something about this! Now 105 days later! HELP!!!”
Conclusion
Dr. Fauci and his gang of complicit experts, along with democratic socialists and the communist mainstream media have labored to instill fear in America, to mask us into infinity and to destroy the man who loves America and her people and gave up a life of luxury to save his beloved country.
Yes, negligent homicide. The deaths caused by Fauci’s actions mean nothing to the globalist elitists; their goal is the destruction of America’s greatness and men like Donald J. Trump and his supporters whose patriotism and love of country are anathema to their God hating communist goals.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Kelleigh Nelsonhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngKelleigh Nelson2020-11-04 08:17:122021-10-07 21:17:04Is Dr. Anthony Fauci Guilty of Negligent Homicide?
On July 27, a video that allegedly made “false coronavirus claims” was taken down by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but not before nearly 20 million people watched it.
The people in that video, led by Dr. Simone Gold, have formed a group called “America’s Frontline Doctors,” with a mission to “counter the massive disinformation campaign regarding the pandemic.” They have reestablished an online presence, on multiple platforms, although it is hard to find. Hence we have added their profile to the Winston84 directory.
The debate over the efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine has now completely disappeared from mainstream discussion. But Gold’s group, all of them MDs, maintain it can be used, especially in the early stages, to effectively treat COVID-19.
The even bigger question however is why medical doctors are, for what may be the first time in history, being harassed for prescribing HCQ, and being silenced for suggesting publicly that it has theraputic value in certain situations? And perhaps even bigger than that – why are Americans being trained to relinquish their constitutional rights whenever a “health emergency” is declared?
Which brings us to another profile we’ve just added, Debbie Georgatos, host of “America Can We Talk.” In a video released on 10/27, Georgato had this to say:
“The Left is planting the seed in the minds of the American people that a health threat legitimizes and justifies taking away the freedom of the people… when there’s a crisis, it is time to surrender our liberty.”
Watch out. Because COVID-19, and the next pandemic, and genuine medical issues, are not the only sources anymore of what the Left markets as a “health crisis.” Also being developed as a crisis of public health are the “right to housing,” systemic racism, and the climate emergency.
We’re going to learn a lot and endure a lot as we make our way through the COVID-19 pandemic. But one lesson we must not forget, is that the Left is attempting to medicalize issues of public policy that have nothing to do with medicine. Don’t let them.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Winston 84http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngWinston 842020-11-04 07:12:092021-10-07 21:17:05“America’s Frontline Doctors” Should Not Be Censored
We measure ourselves from the time we are children. “Johnny grew three inches!” “Susie got all As in school!”
We compare ourselves with others to measure our accomplishments. “Johnny is faster than Fred.” “Susie is smarter than Mary.”
We compete with each other for advancement. “Johnny won a gold medal in swimming!” “Susie got into Harvard!”
We measure, compare, and compete with others as we establish our own individual identities. We also measure, compare, and compete with ourselves as we establish our own internal sense of self. So, what is the problem?
Competence is the mother of self-esteem. It is the foundation of the meritocracy and source of the American dream. Theoretically, when we study and work hard we achieve competence, feel good about ourselves and are rewarded with advancement. Competition is an integral and important part of establishing an individual identity, a family identity, a community identity, and a national identity.
There are rules in every competition because fairness is the essential qualifying element for the meritocracy. Individuals compete. Teams compete. Families compete. Countries compete. When the rules for fair competition are broken, the entire merit system breaks down and the competition is replaced with a counterfeit performance that is presented as fair and legitimate.
The breakdown in American society is a breakdown of the merit system. The radical leftist Democrats are trying to replace the merit system with identity politics. Here is the problem. Identity politics are inherently racist and prejudicial because they do not measure competence or performance, they are quota systems based on discriminatory elements like skin color, gender, religion, etc. Identity politics are diametrically opposed to individualism and the American dream.
Tuesday’s 2020 presidential election is a referendum on fairness and the American dream.
Biden/Harris represent collectivism. Biden’s globalism and Harris’ radical leftism are based on the collectivist model of top down control that denies the merit system. Technocracy is moving America and its individual accomplishments to the communist Chinese model of collectivism and sameness. It is the regressive descent backward to the feudal power structure of rulers and the ruled.
Under Obama, the radical leftist Democrats have already eliminated fair competition in public school because someone’s “feelings” might get hurt. Eliminating competition eliminates striving for excellence and competence. It is a deliberate assault on a child’s developing identity and self-esteem.
In The Book of Humanitarian Hoaxes: Killing America with ‘Kindness’ I discuss the sinister and interconnecting leftist, Islamist, globalist attacks on America that present destructive policies as altruistic. Hoax 16: The Humanitarian Hoax of Relativism (pp.56-59) and Hoax 50: The Humanitarian Hoax of Eternal Childhood (pp.248-252), explain the catastrophic dangers of valuing feelings over facts.
The oppressive and contrived Covid lockdowns have exposed public education’s curricula as dumbed down, anti-American, anti-individualism, pro-collectivist, and indoctrinating American children to be globalist citizens under one-world governance.
The 2020 election campaign has exposed the destructive Biden/Harris ticket and how it has broken every rule and eliminated any semblance of a fair political competition.
Joe Biden is a pathological liar and the most corrupt politician in the Washington swamp. If the globalist media weren’t protecting Joe Biden, he and his family would all be in jail where they belong! Biden’s paid political ads are shockingly dishonest attempts to frighten Americans into voting for Biden.
Biden is a fear mongering liar promoting political medicine NOT medical science. Consider OutKick’sSeptember 2020 article, “Coronavirus Survival Rate Near 100% for Most Americans” that lists the stunning CDC statistics by age group.
Even the corrupt CDC has admitted that only 6% of the people the media reports as covid deaths have actually died FROM Covid. The others all died WITH Covid. The actual cause of death was anything from cancer to car accidents. The deliberately misleading statistics bombarding Americans every day are courtesy of the fake news media and Internet tech giants Why? They have massive financial investments in communist China, and are determined to defeat America-first Donald Trump.
Do not believe a word Joe Biden says. Joe Biden and his family financial involvement in China makes him a national security threat. Beijing Joe Biden belongs in prison – NOT in the White House! And what about his running mate?
Beyond Kamala Harris’ radical leftist ideology, she is married to Douglas Emhoff whose multinational law firm, DLA Piper, employs ex-CCP officials and “boasts nearly 30 years of experience in China and over 140 lawyers dedicated to its ‘China Investment Services.’”
Do not let lying Beijing Joe Biden and communist-linked radical leftist Kamala Harris kill the American dream! Embrace American authenticity and reject Chinese counterfeits!
WE THE PEOPLE are the American dreamers who can still make our American dreams come true. President Donald Trump’s America is built on the meritocracy. His economic policies are color-blind and put America first – all Americans. Yes, ALL Americans because ALL lives matter in Trump’s America.
Do not be ashamed to say it. ALL LIVES MATTER! Shout it from the rooftops!
Do not be ashamed to compete fairly. The meritocracy is the foundation of individualism and success.
Do not be ashamed to want to win. Never apologize for America or for wanting to be a winner.
Winning is important! Winning establishes our national American identity and national American culture of success. When Donald Trump wins America wins! Vote for Team Trump’s America-first policies and its stunning America-first record of success. Success is the winning, unifying principle that makes our American dreams come true.
Protestors rallied in front of Joe Biden’s home on Halloween at the www.scaryjoeprotests.com event. Protest leader Moira Sheridan said that they were tired of the media blackout on Biden’s corruption and wanted to make a last ditch effort to get the word out.
One protestor was dressed as a nun who had a sign that read, “False Nun Pro-Biden” while another sported a sign saying “True Nun Pro Life.”
Law enforcement was present and shut down the road to Biden’s home to allow the protestors to gather.
One protestor was dressed as a convict with a laptop, another as the devil, and another as Biden himself.
A skit was played out in which the devil asks for Biden to sell his soul. He signs on the line.
Later in the day a protest occurred in front of Independence Hall. Some bystanders booed but others seemed supportive.
Brian S. Brown is founder and publisher of International Family News. He is also president of the International Organization for the Family (IOF). Brian also serves as President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) after having co-founded the organization in 2007. Brian has been quoted regularly in the The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and almost every other major newspaper in the country. He has also regularly appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, C-SPAN and MSNBC. An Oxford University-educated and articulate advocate for marriage, he is a sought-after speaker who has addressed hundreds of gatherings throughout the country, and internationally. Brian is a C. Phil. at UCLA in American History, earned his B.A./M.A. in Modern History at Oxford University, and received his B.A. in History from Whittier College. He and his wife Susan have nine young children.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2020-11-01 06:55:482020-11-01 06:58:53Exclusive Footage of Protests at Joe Biden’s Home and at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall
The issue of abortion has barely come up in the debates of Election 2020. But for many of us, it is still the issue that matters most.
I am a one issue voter, without apology, and that issue is abortion. I’m against it. If a politician thinks it is acceptable—whatever the rhetoric—to deliberately kill a living, developing human being in the womb, that politician is wrong. And he or she will never have my vote.
The issue of life is so basic. It is even the first Creator-given right listed in our nation’s birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence. Without life, how can there be liberty or the pursuit of happiness or the right to property? Or any other right?
Those politicians who get the issue of life wrong tend to get just about everything else wrong.
With the window to the womb that science provides today, the emperor has no clothes when they say that a baby is not being killed.
Remember the case of Abby Johnson, manager of a Texas Planned Parenthood clinic and “Planned Parenthood Employee of the Year,” who resigned her lucrative position when she saw a sonogram of an abortion in her own clinic? She suddenly realized that this was not a clump of tissue being cleansed away. This was a tiny little human being in the making, fighting a losing battle against a high-power suction machine. Her book (with Cindy Lambert), Unplanned, chronicles all this.
In this election, there has arisen a group that claims to be “evangelical” and “pro-life” that in reality supports pro-abortion politicians. Who are they fooling? What they claim is that the “pro-life” position goes beyond simply the issue of abortion to such issues as “climate change.” All they do is to attempt to dilute the phrase “pro-life” so that it loses its real meaning: opposition to abortion.
For example, they claim that being “pro-life” means being against racism, which they inconsistently argue somehow necessitates voting for pro-abortion candidates. Imagine that—fighting racism by supporting Black genocide. The fact is, abortion kills almost 30 percent of Black children in the womb—and more than half of them in New York City.
It is well documented that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, was a racist.
On December 10, 1939, in a letter to her board member, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble, Sanger wrote,
“We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.”
Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., told me in a television interview: “During her lifetime Dr. Margaret Sanger said ‘colored’ people are like weeds and they need to be exterminated.” No wonder that the vast majority of Planned Parenthood facilities—to this day—are in the minority neighborhoods.
Former Vice President Joe Biden used to be (supposedly) “moderately pro-choice.” But now he’s shifted to the position of accepting abortion up to the moment of birth. And he believes we the taxpayers should fund it. His running mate is fiercely pro-abortion. As attorney general of California, Kamala Harris prosecuted and persecuted David Daleiden, the pro-life whistle-blower who made “60 Minutes”-style undercover videos, documenting that abortionists were trafficking in baby body parts for profit.
In contrast, President Donald Trump has been described by Steven Ertelt, editor of Lifenews.com, as “the most pro-life president in history.”
Since a president chooses judges and the senate confirms or rejects them, abortion is definitely on the ballot in Election 2020. And there is stark contrast between where the parties stand on this life-and-death issue.
At D. James Kennedy Ministries, we provide a simple party platform comparison on a variety of key issues. Here’s the comparison on the issue of life:
Republicans: “We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.”
“Democrats believe that every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion.”
The Word of God: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14)
We hear endlessly about evils from Americans in times past—especially slavery. I firmly believe that future generations will look back at us and see the rampant practice of abortion, and they will judge us for the slaughter of millions of unborn babies—even more deplorable in light of the window to the womb we have through modern technology.
Christians need to vote our values, and the issue of life is the most important of these.
Thomas Jefferson said that he trembled when he considered that God is just and that His justice cannot slumber forever. No, indeed it won’t.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Jerry Newcombe, D. Min.http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngJerry Newcombe, D. Min.2020-10-29 05:08:082020-10-29 05:09:00Why I’m a One Issue Voter
Yesterday on Washington Watch, Tony Perkins sat down with Andrew Bostom, associate professor of family medicine at Brown University, to discuss the media’s politicization of the coronavirus.
It is no secret the media wants to use the pandemic as a club to wield against President Trump and the Republican Party going into the election, and one of their favorite tactics has been fearmongering. COVID is a serious disease, of course, but evidence is now surfacing that some governments, as well as the media have focused almost exclusively on the trends and numbers that paint a negative picture rather than a more balanced, honest look at the numbers.
“There’s lots of reassuring information they could be sharing in lieu of this fearmongering,” Bostom explained.
Florida, for example, was fully opened up by the end of September, and their hospitalization rate has remained low. There has also been little increase in positive tests, suggesting the lockdowns may not have as much of an impact on the virus as Democrats want them to. Nationwide, despite the steps taken toward reopening, only about two and half percent of hospital visits are for COVID-19, leading Bostom to conclude that “the broad picture for the United States is one of reassurance.”
Good epidemiologists agree that even amidst serious health crises, one thing you should never do is make people panic. President Trump and his administration have taken necessary precautions to slow the spread of the disease while still maintaining a positive outlook, even when the president himself was infected and hospitalized.
Bostom agreed that it’s been good for the country that President Trump has kept an even keel, calling the draconian lockdowns enforced by state governors “far worse than the disease itself.” And, as stated, they don’t seem to help very much even with the virus — all they do is block transmission for a short period of time. As soon as they are lifted, the virus spreads again.
None of this has stopped the media from painting the coronavirus as a death warrant for anybody infected.
The people who are really at risk from the coronavirus are, of course, the elderly. The old and sick must be protected. But keeping healthy people from the workplace is not helping anyone, especially the vulnerable. Hospitals must be kept running, and life, for most people, must go on.
Bostom went on to discuss the unfortunate fact that some governments are hiding their numbers regarding the coronavirus, preventing us from getting the true picture of what is going on. Bostom said he was “very disappointed” in his home state of Rhode Island, which has made it very hard to know how much the state has flattened the curve regarding hospitalization rates, death rates, and even infections.
Instead, as Bostom put it, “they will take any little uptick and stick that on the front of the web page. And I think this is being done all over the country.”
The media has hidden the truth about the coronavirus from the American people, but it is not too late to expose them for their politicization and fearmongering. People deserve to know the facts amidst this crisis, and the media should be ashamed that they are putting lives and livelihoods on the line for the sake of their left-wing agenda.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Family Research Councilhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFamily Research Council2020-10-29 04:49:282020-10-29 04:49:28PODCAST: COVID-19 — The Fearmongering Must End
Whether the issue is “Climate Change” or ways of dealing with COVID-19 the Radical Left ridicules anyone who would dare to question their positions on critical issues. They accuse those who question them or their claims of not believing in science.
In a new interview, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates sharply criticized the Trump administration for muzzling experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while instead listening to White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Scott Atlas, whom Gates calls a “pseudo-expert” who’s “off-the-rails.”
Atlas, a member of the administration’s coronavirus task force who formerly appeared as a commentator for Fox News, reportedly opposes an expansion of COVID testing and earlier this month posted a tweet falsely downplaying the effectiveness of masks. Twitter later removed the post from Atlas, a Stanford University professor with a medical degree from the University of Chicago School of Medicine.
“We now have a pseudo-expert advising the president,” Gates, the former Microsoft (MSFT) CEO and a leading backer of global public health initiatives, told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in an interview that aired on Monday as part of the the news organization’s All Markets Summit.
This article is important for a number of reasons. First of all, Gates demonstrated colossal chutzpah to insult a medical doctor who graduated from a highly respected medical school and serves as a professor at Stanford University, while Gates, himself, never attended any medical school.
In fact, Gates has no degree of any kind!
What then, could possibly qualify Gates to pass judgement on the credibility of a medical doctor especially one with the clear credentials of Dr. Scott Atlas even as he castigated President Trump for challenging the contradictory and morphing advice of Dr. Fauci.
The AOL/Yahoo article stated that Twitter had removed what they claimed was a tweet posted by Dr. Atlas that they claim falsely downplayed the effectiveness of masks.
It is more than a bit disturbing that Twitter censored Dr. Atlas and, in so doing, prevented the general public from benefitting from his perspectives. This should alarm everyone.
About 20 years ago I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The surgeon who examined me and told me of my situation was the chief of urology at a major New York Hospital and chaired the department of urology at a major medical school.
However, while he told me that he believed that he could save my life, he urged me to seek out at least one additional opinion so that I would be confident that I was making the proper decision.
I did seek out that second opinion and my medical insurance policy covered that second opinion, because this notion of seeking additional opinions is considered the standard way for people to make certain that they are making proper life and death decisions.
Needless to say, my surgeon saved my life- this a good thing because I have not aggravated my quota yet!
Where science and the Radical Left are concerned, however, not blindly following what their anointed experts proclaim, is an act of heresy.
This flies in the face of commonsense and threatens the First Amendment and all of our freedoms.
In doing a bit of research I found a similar situation that existed in a different country many years ago.
That country was Germany as the Third Reich began taking control of Germany and its population, Jews came under vicious attack. No less a scientist that Albert Einstein was attacked for his work. Scientific America on February 13, 2015 published an important article about the lunacy that transpired at that time, How 2 Pro-Nazi Nobelists Attacked Einstein’s “Jewish Science” [Excerpt].
The article discussed the mass book burnings carried out on college campuses, not unlike the way that Antifa operates today. Books authored by Albert Einstein were incinerated. Here is an important paragraph from this article:
It would be absurd, of course, to suppose that most of the book-burners had given these questions a moment’s thought. The simple fact was that Einstein was a prominent Jew, and his thoughts therefore fit for the bonfire. But Einstein’s theory was attacked on racial grounds. This assault came not by asinine ideologues in the party whose knowledge of science extended no further than a belief in fairy tales about “cosmic ice,” nor from individuals on the scientific fringe seeking official approval and support. It was orchestrated by two Nobel laureates in physics, who devised a full-blown thesis (it can’t be dignified by calling it a theory) on how stereotypical racial features are exhibited in scientific thinking. They were Philipp Lenard and Johannes Stark, and they wanted to become the new Führers of German physics.
Einstein’s Theories of Relativity and his concept of Space-Time were mocked and ridiculed by two Nazi Nobel laureates.
Of course nearly all of Einstein’s brilliant theories have been validated in recent years by scientists and physicists who now have the technological tools to conduct appropriate experiments.
Understandably fearing for his life, Einstein fled Nazi Germany and came to America where, ironically, he helped America defeat Fascism in Germany and Japan and, in so doing, safeguarded freedom for people across the globe.
Today the Radical Left demands obedience to theories about climate change that support their demands for the “New Green Deal” even as some scientists question the validity of the notion that human actions have climatological consequences that must be stopped at all costs.
They seek nothing short of a fundamental transformation in the way that we live and work and these demands can only be justified by claiming that catastrophic climate change can only be averted if we adopt draconian changes.
Science has always been about challenges beliefs and devising experiments to seek the truth.
To cite an interesting example of how highly respected scientists may come to diametrically opposed conclusions consider a pair of articles that ran on the same website (Space.com) on two consecutive days.
The physicists who wrote the first article postulated that because Betelgeuse is so huge and pulsating, it is likely to explode within our lifetimes. They estimated that that star is 700 light-years from earth. This is why they proposed the construction of a special telescope to keep an astronomical eye on that star.
However, if the physicists who published the second article are right, Betelgeuse is 548 light years away. This would mean that the star is not nearly as large or bright as the other physicists believe. This would mean that Betelgeuse is not likely to become a super nova any time soon- at least not for another 100,000 years by their estimates.
This may not seem important to us on our beleaguered planet, but the lessons to be learned is very important.
Experts can and do disagree. The process of questioning is behind all of our achievements. Scientists who serve a political agenda are the scientists who must not be trusted.
Science is supposed to be the tireless search for universal truths and must be unencumbered by political agendas.
Scientists who yield to the political elite betray their professions and should be ignored as the science-fascists that they are.
Voltaire sagely observed that you could determine the intelligence of a person by considering the questions that they ask, the same questions that today will earn you scorn and ridicule by the Radical Left.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Michael Cutlerhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngMichael Cutler2020-10-29 03:23:112020-10-29 03:26:41Science Nazis Demand Obedience To Their Political Agenda
October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and the entire Trump Administration are committed to a nationwide effort to break the hold of addiction.
This October I am honoring National Substance Use Prevention Month by joining @ONDCP to highlight the dedicated efforts of our Nation's youth to encourage healthy drug-free lives. Share how you are helping your community using #BeDrugFree – we look forward to hearing from you! pic.twitter.com/DiMTCsk9Si
“This month, we pause to remember the lives lost to addiction, and recommit to protecting all Americans—particularly our nation’s young people—from the devastating effects drugs can have on them and their loved ones,” the President wrote in his proclamation.
To fightopioid misuse, a growing epidemic when President Trump took office, the President declared a Public Health Emergency in 2017 and signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act into law. His Administration also strengthened the Drug‑Free Communities program, which offers grants to prevent youth substance abuse.
Amid the global Coronavirus pandemic, it is especially important to be aware of how prolonged isolation can affect mental health and result in the misuse of both legal and illegal substances. Through community-based efforts, the Trump Administration is strengthening the support systems that keep our young people free from drugs—including helping more school districts safely return students to the classroom.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png001600 Daily - The White Househttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png1600 Daily - The White House2020-10-27 08:15:182020-10-27 08:15:18WATCH: First Lady Melania Trump on substance abuse prevention
Religious nuns wearing “Make America Great Again” masks at President Donald Trump’s rally excited the attention of Twitter users Saturday evening.
At least three different nuns can be seen standing behind the president as he spoke Saturday night in Circleville, Ohio. The nuns, dressed in white, black and purple habits and wearing crosses around their necks, also wore black masks with the letters “MAGA” on them, were in the front row of the Trump rally.
One nun held a bible in her hands, pictures show, while others held rosaries.
.@realDonaldTrump in Ohio: "Joe [Biden], you want to do all this stuff, why didn't you do it? You were there 3.5 years ago. … I wouldn't have run Joe if you did a good job. … The fact is you didn't do a good job Joe, you let us down." pic.twitter.com/0sK8kDf62l
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Daily Callerhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Daily Caller2020-10-25 09:56:292020-10-25 09:59:41MAGA Mask-Wearing Nuns Steal The Show At Trump Rally
New mental health data from Dane County, Wisconsin offer a dark glimpse at the costs of stay-at-home orders.
This summer, a relative reached out to me regarding the sad story of Kodie Dutcher, a 10-year-old from Baraboo, Wisconsin who was reported missing in July.
Law enforcement officials put out an Amber Alert, and a volunteer search party was organized. Kodie’s body was found the following morning—July 7, a Tuesday—near her home. Her death was ruled a suicide by the Baraboo Police Department.
Kodie’s death shook me. I grew up in a small town not far from Baraboo and know people who live there today. It occurred to me that my own little girl, whom I still think of as a baby, is roughly the same age Kodie was when she took her life.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, but evidence suggests that few demographics are suffering more than young people. Data show they’re suffering more economically, and emerging evidence shows that many are less equipped to deal with the “collateral damage” of forced lockdowns mentally.
A new report from the Wisconsin State Journal examining mental health trends in Dane County, the second most populous county in Wisconsin, shows that many are struggling to cope with the mental toll of social isolation precipitated by the economic lockdowns.
Hannah Flanagan, the Director of Emergency Services at Journey Mental Health Center, said calls to the center’s crisis hotline are up more than 15 percent since the beginning of the pandemic, with many people suffering not from severe mental illness but situational stress. Preliminary data collected by the center show that Dane County passed its 2019 suicide count in early October.
Flanagan said Dane County had experienced 57 suicides as of early October, more than the total of 54 it had experienced the entire calendar year in 2019. She indicated that the excess deaths largely stem from stay-at-home orders.
“When people are lonely, it’s really hard to cope,” Flanagan said. “The specificity about COVID social distancing and isolation that we’ve come across as contributing factors to the suicides are really new to us this year.”
It’s alarming to see a large county eclipse its previous suicide total with nearly three months remaining in the calendar year, but the numbers become even more troubling when you drill into them a little further. The center’s figures show that 15 of these suicides were committed by people under the age of 25. That’s nearly double the total in 2019 (eight)—and we still have nearly three months until the year is over.
One could dismiss these figures as anecdotal evidence or a strange outlier. The problem is it fits with other mental health trends around the country. The CDC recently reported that one out of four young people have contemplated suicide during the pandemic, about two and a half times the overall rate.
Though national data on youth suicide during the pandemic is not yet available, trends reported from suicide hotline centers across the country show that many young people are crying out for help.
Social Isolation Is Deadly
Flanagan’s explanation that the spike in suicide in Dane County is tied to COVID-19 lockdowns dovetails with years of science that shows social isolation isn’t just psychologically harmful to humans, but deadly.
An abundance of scientific evidence shows social isolation “is one of the main risk factors associated with suicidal outcomes.” The dangers are particularly acute in women, research suggests.
This is why from the beginning of the pandemic there has been a small but consistent chorus of researchers warning that forced isolation could prove to be “a perfect storm” for suicide.
“Secondary consequences of social distancing may increase the risk of suicide,” researchers wrote in an April 10 paper published by the American Medical Association. “It is important to consider changes in a variety of economic, psycho-social, and health-associated risk factors.”
It should be noted that suicide is just one of the deadly effects of social isolation. Dr. Dhruv Khullar, a physician and assistant professor of healthcare policy at Weill Cornell Medical College, detailed numerous other deadly effects of social isolation in a popular 2016 article in the New York Times:
“A wave of new research suggests social separation is bad for us. Individuals with less social connection have disruptedsleep patterns, alteredimmune systems, moreinflammation and higher levels ofstress hormones.One recent study found that isolation increases the risk of heart disease by 29 percent and stroke by 32 percent.
Another analysis that pooled data from 70 studies and 3.4 million people found that socially isolated individuals had a 30 percent higher risk of dying in the next seven years, and that this effect was largest in middle age.
Loneliness canaccelerate cognitive decline in older adults, and isolated individuals aretwice as likely to die prematurely as those with more robust social interactions. These effects start early:Socially isolated children have significantly poorer health 20 years later, even after controlling for other factors. All told, loneliness is as important a risk factor for early death as obesity and smoking.”
Tradeoffs: An Economic Reality
Unfortunately, nations around the world and many US states have failed to assess these risks. Policymakers, perhaps incentivized by a 24-hour media that tracked and reported COVID-19 deaths like a sporting event, have adopted empty slogans such as “if it saves just one life.”
It rarely occurs to lawmakers to also look at the lives lost as a result of their policies.
“There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs,” the famous economist Thomas Sowell once observed, “and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that’s all you can hope for.”
Tradeoffs are a simple economic reality, but one humans often overlook. The idea was perhaps best described by economist Russ Roberts, who noted that every choice also means giving something up.
In many ways, the pandemic is a perfect example of ignoring the reality of tradeoffs. Lawmakers saw that by enforcing social distancing, they were (in theory) limiting the spread of the virus. What they didn’t see was the tradeoffs: lost social interaction that is crucial for humans, cancer screenings abandoned, jobs lost, AA meetings canceled, babies denied heart surgery, and so on.
“Rational people understand this isn’t how the world works. Regardless of whether we acknowledge them, tradeoffs exist. And acknowledging tradeoffs is an important part of constructing sound policy. Unfortunately, even mentioning tradeoffs in a time of crisis brings the accusation that only heartless beasts would balance human lives against dollars. But each one of us balances human lives against dollars, and any number of other things, every day.”
Americans, particularly those with influence and those in leadership positions, should recognize that lockdowns—and indeed all sweeping government-mandates—come with a host of unintended consequences.
The failure to acknowledge or adequately consider them is why so many people today are in pain—and why more young Americans are seeking to throw away their most precious gift.
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune. Bylines: Newsweek, The Washington Times, MSN.com, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, the Epoch Times.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFoundation for Economic Education (FEE)2020-10-25 07:36:242020-10-25 07:36:24Suicides Up Nearly 100% Among Young People in Wisconsin’s Second Largest County, as Medical Experts Cite Perils of Social Isolation
The issue of abortion has barely come up in the debates of Election 2020. But for many of us, it is still the issue that matters most.
