Drifting Fate

Thomas Massie, Republican representative from Kentucky, has been attacked by the Left and Right for simply asking representatives to do what we send them to Washington, D.C., to do - formally vote on the $2,000,000,000,000 corona virus "stimulus" bill.  You know, the one where they give you back your own money and ask to be congratulated for it. All Rep. Massie did was follow the Constitution.  It really was a telling moment.  For decades, the Left has been accused of seeing the Constitution as an impediment to what they want to do, not a guide.  Now, we see the same holds for the corporate Right as well. Even so-called conservatives are making fun of those who question the government's right and ability to do things such as close businesses and limit travel.  In places like Rhode Island and Florida, it has literally been, "Where are your papers?", you know, the WWII joke that was always made when totalitarianism came up. As someone pointed out, the Foundi...

Viruses flourish throughout our world, some infect us and do bad things when they do, most just look at us a go, "Meh", and keep on walking by. When a virus mutates enough to make the jump from an animal to a human we have things like the "Swine Flue" and "H1N1". But, what does it mean when a virus which affects humans begins to infect our dogs and cats ?  I really don't know.  I'm not sure I've heard of such a jump before.  Our systems are so different that such a jump isn't common.  And, yet, a cat and two dogs have tested positive for COVID-19, assumed to have caught it from their owners. It feels, and I know that's a bad word, but it's the right word, it feels like this just puts another nail in the coffin of this being a naturally occurring virus.  With complete certainty and zero facts, hold on - I'm going full progressive, I'm just going to say that this is now officially a bio-weapon.  Oh, sure, DNA stu...

One thing about emergencies, they tend to clear out the cotton between the ears and set the thinking straight, at least for a little while. Just so we're clear:

This morning, numbers came out from Italy and China.  Surprisingly, they were very similar.  Mortality rates are low until the 60's at which point they climb precipitously, upwards of 20%+. However, a bit of caution must be maintained when we look at these numbers.  First, Italy was barely hanging on economically and was expected to be one of the falling dominoes of the EU.  Their health care, socialized, of course, was pretty much being held together with bubblegum and hope.  China, manufacturer to the world, has never realized population-wide health care which came anywhere near to Western standards. China is a closed country and while we can only guess how they have treated their corona virus patients, we know life is cheap within those borders and we have no reason to believe that an overstressed system was when those standards would change. Multiple reports have come out of Italy that the dramatic lack of ventilators meant anyone over 60 was literally...

I've seen a few articles written pre-corona virus about "preparing to shelter in place."  Well, it's a bit late for that.  We're here. All things considered - from natural disasters to terrorist attacks - we're doing pretty good when it comes to having to shelter in place.  We still have water and power.  Even though the store shelves are mostly bare, shipping and restocking is happening.  Manufacturers such as GM are switching from their primary business of making automobiles to making ventilators. While many businesses are closed and the economic cost of this pandemic is so staggering that we'll probably never know exactly how much it's costing us.  Guesses will be made, but it's irrelevant, it is what it is.  The sooner we are out of this fear and panic mode the better off we will be. For those of you who got caught a bit flatfooted, there are two areas where you may wish to put a bit of extra money:  fire safety and first aid. The more...

Now for some great news, the next season of Bosch debuts April 17th on Amazon Prime. If you are familiar with the show, you know it's worth the cost of Amazon Prime itself. Harry Bosch is an LAPD detective played by Titus Welliver.  He's military vet who has a lot of years on the streets of LA.  He's partnered with the junior detective Jerry Edgar well played by Jamie Hector. This is modern noir at its best.  From the moody music to the excellent cinematography to the superb acting, LA comes alive in both the glitter and the crud which makes it such a unique city.  They don't air brush the worst of humanity out, while being honest with the best. It's not the greatest as a procedural, but, as a writing professor once told me, "Don't let the truth get in the way of a great story." If you haven't kept up on the show, you have one of the best binge sessions you'll ever have ahead of you.

Yesterday morning, Italy released new numbers as reported by Fox News . You can do the math, but it comes out to a 9% mortality rate, much higher than the rest of the world. In fact, somewhere else on the interwebz, where exactly I can't remember, think it was BBC, reported a world wide death rate that comes out to about 4%.  That is much higher than has been modeled, but a few things are going on here from what I can see. First, Italy's health system appears to be overwhelmed with people being triaged and wheeled into corners to die without any medical care.  Those are the stories which are coming out, and these numbers are on the heels of videos coming out of Italy saying the media is under-reporting (of all things) the severity of the illness. This brings up stories of the Spanish Flu and how the death rates from the same contagion today would be lower now simply due to the care, rest, fluids, and sanitation we can provide in a modern society... or can we?  Ita...

Happy Saint Patricks day to everyone! The upside to the virus panic is that the roads are amazingly clear on my morning commute and this will probably be one of the safest St Patricks days ever to be on the streets of America. Not much has changed policy wise in the last 24 hours, but here is an article written by Allen West which is a breath of fresh air amongst all of the doomsdayers out there - seriously, every single news article is about the corona virus.  Admittedly, having a bio-weapon loose on the globe is of concern, but you just know there are strings being pulled about other serious issues while America is distracted by all the talk of illness and quarantines. In Mr. West's article, he talks about managing fear and not letting it control us.  He's right.  As an example he uses the routing of the Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union troops were led in a bayonet charge by General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin, a true example of a citizen so...

It's difficult to call something dated when it's only three days old, but here we are... Still, I think this article about 8 Key Facts You Should Know about the Corona Virus from Friday, March 13th is worthwhile reading. Fact #7 - "Symptoms include cough, fever, and shortness of breath."  Or, for me, Wednesday. I've been approached by a few people about security and safety during this time and the reality is that mass panic levels generated from a pandemic are beyond the scope of most people who study self-defense, myself included.  But, since we have to face it, we might as well plan knowing what we know. Apply the basics:  lock your doors and windows, doors all the time, doors and windows at night no matter how nice the weather.  Pay attention to what your dog is doing.  Never, ever open your security door to an unknown person or even a known person who seems to be making up excuses to be there.  Neighbors will turn on neighbors if supplies run...

There is so much unknown at this time. The panic level is off the charts.  Panic is never a good response to anything, but the rise of it can lead us to reasoned action.  So, how much of the underlying emotion leading to this panic is justified? I do believe the MSM has been yelling "Fire" in crowded theater.  But, we're not even sure there is smoke yet. It has already been a wild, disastrous ride economically and many are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place.  I'm no socialist, but I hope apartment landlords and bank mortgage managers allow some grace while we get through this.  Sending families by the thousands out onto the streets because they lived paycheck to paycheck is not in the best interest of this country. Here is a link of the David Harris Jr show interviewing Gary Heavin , a health care expert.  It's long at an hour, but I won't bury the lead:  he said this could be worse than the Spanish Flu due to the incubati...

More and more, it looks like we'll all have a bit of spare time on our hands. Rather than spend it binge watching "Mean Girls", pick up a book and read. First and foremost, for all of us, not just those of you facing your own mortality for the first time, is to be right with the Lord. If you don't have a Bible, you can download it for free as an app (or course!).  I like YouVersion, which just comes up as "Bible" on the App Store.  Right now it has five start with 4.8 million votes.  You can easily search, select from different translations, and even choose preset reading and study plans. Start with the Gospel of John.  From there you may with to continue with Acts and Romans, or fall back to the Old Testament and read Genesis.  Many find comfort in the Psalms and I find great wisdom in Proverbs.  But, start with the Gospel of John (fourth of the first four books of the New Testament). I believe in a mix of Biblical study mixed with some n...

I don't know anything about who did this or the story behind it, I just saw it on The Daily Time Waster's site and thought it so cool that I wanted to share.

I'm not the biggest Joe Rogan fan but I will say that he does an excellent job with his guest selection. This is a link to an interview with Michael Olsterholm who is an infectious disease "detective." As of today, WHO has called COVID-19 a pandemic, which really isn't a surprise to anyone.  With international flights and a two-week incubation period during which people are highly contegious, this has been the plot of many a thriller book and movie. Gloves and masks are essentially worthless.  No vaccine anytime soon.  What about pre-emptive self-quarantines?  Yes, if you can afford to do it and you are older.  Closing schools is actually counterproductive as children really aren't catching COVID-19, a good thing, and then you're going to be pulling parents, many of whom work in the medical field out of circulation, a bad thing. From a business standpoint, we are in for a world of hurt.  Our economy relies on off-shore production of medical su...