Shhhhh. No one cares

 The new Omicron variant is making the news. 

Why?

It is clearly just as lethal as the original and all its variants ... which is to say, not very lethal.

Unless you are very old ... and already sick.

A year ago, I was entering the final stages of recovery from COVID-19. Along with my wife, a dozen of my friends contracted it, dealt with it, and moved on. None of us are young: all between 50 and 70. Many of us have had some sort of serious health issue over the years (cancer seems to be unnervingly common). As a group, our symptoms ranged from pretty bad (fever of 101F and higher) to almost non-existent. 

The one thing all of us had in common: 100% survival rate.

COVID-19 has followed the exact same path as every other virus: 

• It spreads rapidly and the most vulnerable die in relatively large numbers
• It continues to spread but the proportion of severe illness drops dramatically, along with its lethality
• It mutates and continues to spread in its new form
• The seriousness of illness and lethality continues to drop

In other words, lots of people get infected. Some of them get sick. But a very small percentage get seriously ill, and an even smaller percentage die. 

What are we hearing about now?

The Omicron variant is very contagious, but its symptoms are very mild. Entirely predictable.

It's asking too much of our 24-hour sensationalism-based news cycle. But shut up about it already.

The Response is Killing Us

It seems as though decision makers across the country are determined to cause as much harm to the people as humanly possible. 

Now it's the delta variant and areas of high transmissibility that are their excuses for imposing burdens. 

Indisputable Facts:

• COVID has always been highly transmissible. Normal people, who are not trying to frighten or intimidate others, would say it's contagious. This is nothing new. The delta variant may or may not be statistically more contagious than any of the of the variations of the virus ...  past, present, or future. But for practical purposes, it's no different than what we've been dealing with since February 2020. 
• COVID has always been highly survivable for the majority of US residents. It is quite dangerous for the elderly, and a nuisance for mostly everyone else. Of course there are exceptions and exceptions have always gotten far more attention than they deserve. They are, nonetheless, exceedingly rare.
• Vaccines have never, ever been 100% effective. 
• Vaccines are, furthermore, effective in varying ways ... sometimes they prevent the onset of an illness; sometimes they reduce the symptoms of an illness; sometimes they shorten the time of being symptomatic. All of these outcomes demonstrate that the vaccine is effective.
• All Policy Decisions have a cost. Even those that might be considered a mere nuisance must - no matter how small the cost - be evaluated against their expected and/or experienced benefit.
• Masks are proven to have a negligible impact on the trajectory, transmissibility, and outcome of COVID. Cases in areas of high mask usage have followed the same pattern as in areas of low mask usage. Yet they impose a cost. Reasonable people can disagree on the severity of the cost, but it is NOT zero. In my opinion, any cost for NO benefit is to great a cost.
• The vaccines have proven to be effective. The short-term costs have been, thus far, negligible. We do not know the long-term costs. That uncertainty must be weighed against the proven benefits. 
• The CDC is a bureaucracy, led by bureaucrats. All successful/high-ranking bureaucrats are politically ambitious, motivated to exercise power and authority, and adept at using language to manipulate others. This does not make them bad people. It's simply a statement of fact.

Today's Response from on high:

• Once again, we see rhetoric from the CDC that recommends masks if you're in an area of high transmissibility. 
• Politicians - the president, governors, mayors, etc. - are ignoring the valid concerns of those that thoughtfully consider the uncertain long-term impact of vaccination.

The response is monumentally stupid, and will cause even more harm than we've already experienced.

Biden is Failing Test after Test

Here in the mid-Atlantic, we are in the midst of a classic economic shock. Someone ... no one is officially taking credit, nor has anyone officially identified a perpetrator ... shut down a major gasoline pipeline via a software hack. I have no doubt whatsoever that this was conducted by, lead by, and paid for by one of our global adversaries - either Russia or China.

This comes within 72 hours of a Hamas-led massive missile attack on major Israeli cities.

This comes within days of the capture of a ship carrying Russian and Chinese weapons - missiles, machine guns, etc. - by the US Navy, and Iranian boats conducting "swarm attacks" of US Navy vessels.

Hamas is backed by Russia and China.
Iran is backed by Russia and China.

My opinions:

Russia and China are testing Biden administration. They sense that he is not capable of being decisive, and that he is not in full command of how we will respond. It's a presidency by committee, and committees cannot act decisively.

This will get worse before it gets better.

The Cure has been Worse

On March 23, 2020, President Trump tweeted: “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,"

Based on what I'm seeing, that is exactly what has happened.

In my home state of Maryland, significant sectors of business remain closed ... barred from serving customers by the state. 

The media has turned into a giant propaganda machine: extolling "social distancing" at every opportunity. Showing how wonderful it is. 

It is exactly what happened in the novel 1984. The televisions, the radio stations, the commercials, the social media. Everyone talks about their gatherings, and seems compelled to remind everyone that they are "social distancing". As if to say, Don't scold me! Look, I'm social distancing! 

It is nauseating.

The virtue signaling

The attempt at shaming.

Disproportionate Response

Here are several numbers for your consideration:

26

19

35

Two of these numbers represent the number of deaths Baltimore City by homicide in two different months. One of these numbers represents the number of deaths in all of Maryland attributed to COVID19 during March 2020.

On April 1, the state reported 12 additional deaths from COVID19, bringing the total-to-date up to 31 ... again, for all of Maryland. That's still fewer than the homicides in Baltimore City for December 2019.
Should we lock down the city?

source: https://homicides.news.baltimoresun.com/ 
source: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html 

When is Enough, Enough?

As I write these words, the entire country is gripped in fear over the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Maryland, businesses have been ordered ... ORDERED ... to close their doors, in order to stop the spread of the virus. That was 5 days ago ... at 5:00pm on March 23, 2020.
Thus far, I have been supportive of these measures. I believe they have been effective in significantly slowing down the progress of the virus.
But at some point, this needs to stop.
So far in Maryland, we have had 781 confirmed cases, and 5 deaths. That is a mortality rate of 0.64%. Several of the deceased were quite elderly ... over 80 years old ... and it's not clear that the disease shortened their life by a significant margin.
Millions of people are unemployed right now ... over 3 million new unemployment claims were filed this week. My job is in serious jeopardy, and I know that my income is going to drop significantly in the next 30 days.
So how long does this go on?
How much human suffering are we going to bear in order to save a few lives?

Choose the Form of your Destructor

Winston Churchill's definition of a Fanatic

One who can't change his opinion and won't change the subject

NeverTrumpers are determined to blame President Trump for destroying (take your pick):

• The Republican Party
• Conservatism
• Respect for America
• and on and on and on...

Liberals have successfully painted a picture of the Conservative movement as one that stubbornly refuses to consider new ideas or creative solutions. Conservatives, so we are told, are clinging to a fantastical memory of the good old days, when dad stoically marched off to work each morning, leaving mom trapped with the burden of raising the children, cooking meals, and cleaning the house. Conservatives are accused of wanting to returning to the days of segregation and minority oppression.

As a Conservative, I know these are lies, and I will not address them in this post.

But consider those who have declared themselves to be the spokesmen for the Right.

I'm looking at you, Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, and David French. 

It has been 3 years since President Trump was inaugurated. Since then, some of the highest priorities for Conservatives have seen their first meaningful action in decades. The remaking of the judiciary is just one example. We have seen deregulation, tax reform, immigration enforcement, and a robust, muscular diplomatic posture across every foreign relationship.

And who are the ones railing against the person who is leading these efforts? Who is out there, jumping in front of every possible camera and microphone to make the case that this president is destroying Conservatism? Who is out there, clinging to the fantasy that the best days of the Conservatives were ... George W Bush? Mitt Romney? Really? 

I'm looking at you, Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, and David French.

You are reinforcing the stereotype. And in so doing, you are the ones who are damaging Conservatism.

You have chosen the form of your destuctor. And it is you.