No March on Rome, Even

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The country is under slow-motion house arrest on the now-limitless authority of people who didn’t even have to march on Rome to snatch it.

Because we gave it to them. The Corona Cows, at any rate – who are willing to mosey down any chute, as directed. Moo! Mooooooo!

Because Corona!

It is the Universal Reason for Everything now. No work, no job, no money – no movement, even. Unless you are “essential” – which of course almost of all of us who aren’t government workers aren’t, as defined by government workers. It’s a nice business to have the power to decree yourself “essential” – and immune from the life-ending restrictions imposed at gunpoint on the Corona Cows.

Maybe we should stop being cows. The way is easy. Stop being cowed. Take a stand. Go outside – and go for a drive, even if you don’t need groceries and are not “essential” in the eyes of the New Mussolinis.

Is this risky? Certainly. The question is, it necessary? And – are we pussies?

I grow weary of hearing how “brave” Americans are because I see little evidence of it. Whereas I see endless examples of American slavishness. A willingness to accept anything on the basis of nothing – or very little.

A bug that has killed a few thousand people. That’s serious. But the response has been ridiculous.

But, entirely predictable if you understand that our right to assume risk has been under assault for decades.

It was just a month or so ago that I wrote about the absurdity of soaking down the roads with liquid brine in case it might snow. Not because it was actually snowing. The slightest possibility – and roll the trucks.

Because you can’t be too saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafe!

It’s merely one of many examples of a country effeminized – and paralyzed. By fear. Dread of risk. We’re forced to meekly accept force-stops by armed government workers and produce our “papers.”

Not because we’ve done anything but because someone might have.

This was before Corona Fever struck.

Grown men told they must “buckle up” for saaaaaafety – or else be hit with electric cattle prods (no coincidence) dragged out of their vehicle and possibly shot.

Again, for saaaaaaaaaaaaaafety.

Parents Hut! Hut! Hutted! for letting their kids play outside by themselves. A whole city “locked down” because two guys committed a crime.

Now Americans are Corona Criminals – told they may not leave their homes anymore – or else. Can’t go out to dinner. Can’t go to church.

Can’t do anything – other than cringe and narc out those who don’t.

Did the nukes just fall? No, a few thousand people have succumbed to a bug. A large percentage of these are people who would have succumbed to old age soon, regardless. The point being it is not the Advertised Black Death of Millions.

But it is sufficient to retract the testicles of practically every male in this nation of 330 million.

Americans have become pussies run by bullies.

Let’s put a stop to that.

I am going to do my part by going out – in defiance of the Coonman, who just ordered me not to. Because that is essential, to me. It is necessary for me to be free, as opposed to saying the word, without any meaning behind it. To assume risk – if it exists – as my free choice.

If we accept being placed under house arrest without our even having been arrested for anything – much less convicted of anything – then what freedom have we got? The freedom to do as we are told.

It makes me ill – and mad.

I won’t have it.

I hope you won’t have it, either.

And if you are with me, none of us will have to have it.

Don’t be a Corona Cow. Don’t be a pussy. Is the chance you might get sick worth giving up your life? If it is, then stay home – by all means. “Shelter in place.” Shutter your business, withdraw. Cow.

Moo! Moo! 

May your cattle bell rest lightly around your neck.

But pardon me while I live my life – even if it means risking it. That is my decision – just as it is yours.

It most definitely isn’t theirs.

. . .

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164 COMMENTS

  1. A way of taking power that is at least 6,000 years old is to take something natural and normal and make it scary. An eclipse of the sun or moon. bad weather. disease. Whatever it is, if you understand how it works and are politically positioned well it can be used to gain power.

  2. COVID-19 is basically hype. I am no expert. But according to this expert, whose credentials far exceed those of Dr. Fauci and other pseudo-scientists, COVID has yet to result in a single “excess” death in any country. In other words, everyone who has died is statistically expected to have died by other means (such as other pneumonia viruses or bacteria, their pre-existing condition, etc.)

    https://spectator.us/deadly-coronavirus-still-far-clear-covid-19/

    This means COVID is just a reclassification of a tiny fraction of the 150,000+ people that die every single day in the world. It’s a f*king bad cold.

    • I listened to a fairly well accomplished doctor in Germany. He laid out the facts that in Germany lots of people die when infected with a corona type virus every day normally. When asked about the worst case scenario for Germany he said that was a normal day. He then did some basic estimations to the low side of normal and came up with 22 people a day dying in germany when infected with this class of virus. What’s big bad covid19 going to do? 30. So basically his argument is that covid19 is this years version and doing basically what these things do every year.

  3. Wish I could leave a photo proof. But this just inspired me to find my way out onto a “closed” beach here in Florida and dip my toes in the Atlantic! Hell, I’m even bringing a beer! Eric, you are a modern day Paul Revere, good sir!! TO ARMS!

  4. I’ve been a run away slave for the past 35+ years. The day I stay in my house because of a possibility of death by whatever means is because I’m already dead from something lying on the floor. SOOO…let me strap on my .45 for MY safety and those around me, head out into the CORONAWEST and do battle with those little emeffers. I’m sure I’m already considered an “outlaw” by the psychopathic control freaks in “power”, but so be it! For you see…According to the people running the government, I’m the enemy, ’cause I like to think, I like to read. I’m into freedom of speech, and freedom of choice. I’m the kinda guy that likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder, “Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecue ribs with the side-order of gravy fries?” I want high cholesterol! I wanna eat bacon, and butter, and buckets of cheese, okay?! I wanna smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section! I wanna run naked through the street, with green Jell-O all over my body, reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly may feel the need to, okay, pal? I’ve seen the future. You know what it is? It’s a 47-year-old virgin, sitting around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake, singing, “I’m an Oscar Meyer wiener.” ~ Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary – Demolition Man) MY EXACT THOUGHTS!

    • Oh, c’mon, they can’t all be fops, dandies, fruits and nuts, and limp-wristed pansies. But a big cause of limp-wristed-ness throughout our nation is the ever-present proximity of America’s hordes of ever-present police, more than any other nation in the so-called free world. Last time I checked there was one enforcement officer for every 150 citizens, likely the highest ratio in the world. Perhaps Pol Pot or the old USSR had more. When I was but a callow yoot eons ago our township in North Jersey (pop 15,000) had but one full-time and two part-time enforcement officers. They were always polite and civil, except when dealing with the black-leather-jacketed “hoods,” every high-school back in the Fifties featured.

  5. I have always contended that the safest place to be in an earthquake is on the golf course. All the more so if those cute little trouts in short skirts are still driving around in golf carts serving beer and highballs. I would think the same would hold true in an epidemic; fresh air, sunshine and all. But the obese female director of the Health Dept. here in San Angelo, Texas has ordered all playgrounds and golf courses, public and private, be closed. So, yesterday afternoon I visited the local muni and played as many holes as my bum shoulder could take. It was free and I wasn’t the only duffer out there. They pulled all the flags so today I went to the lumberyard and bought several lengths of 1/2″ pvc and grabbed a handful of those plastic red flags the put on your oversized loads and replaced the missing flags on the course. I’ll play again today if it doesn’t rain

    • James, I’m 100 miles from you and have previously lived in San Angelo. I hate to say it but there’s something the matter with a lot of people there. So many assholes shoved together in one place. It’s not a courteous town as I’m accustomed to . I can see SA having a fat women in charge or the health dept.

      If you’re a courteous person, I feel for you living there. It wasn’t always so. Maybe it’s because of being an ex-military base or just so many federal retirees. I have lived all over Texas, even the communist counties of Brown and Coleman. I’m so glad to be out of them all including Tom Green. The nicest people I met in Tom Green county were there for work with home being in other counties. Must be the water.

  6. The faux bravado is especially nauseating in my home state of Texas. Every Texas child receives instruction in the courageous defense of the Alamo. Almost none learned anything from it. I lost count of how many Texans puffed out their chests and said of the “stay at home” decrees issued elsewhere, “They’ll never do that here–too many guns.” Yet no sooner had our pussy-herding governor followed the lead of other pussy governors, most our men were cowering at home. If our Texas guns had minds, they would be embarrassed and praying for new owners. Say this for Texans: no one talks a better game, or slinks away from a fight with a louder whimper.

    • Amen, John –

      Just as kids are taught to revere the men who fought for the independence they aren’t allowed to have. The 4th of July needs to be cancelled on account of good taste.

    • Oh, c’mon, they can’t all be fops, dandies, fruits and nuts, and limp-wristed pansies. But a big cause of limp-wristed-ness throughout our nation is the ever-present proximity of America’s hordes of ever-present police, more than any other nation in the so-called free world. Last time I checked there was one enforcement officer for every 150 citizens, likely the highest ratio in the world. Perhaps Pol Pot or the old USSR had more. When I was but a callow yoot eons ago our township in North Jersey (pop 15,000) had but one full-time and two part-time enforcement officers. They were always polite and civil, except when dealing with the black-leather-jacketed “hoods,” every high-school back in the Fifties featured.

    • Abbot has a hard-on for freedom. I guess being a cripple has brought out the tyrant asshole in him or maybe he was just born that way. He is from Whichita Falls, a veritable Okie.

  7. It’s not effeminized so much as feminized.

    I live in one of the epicenters of woke culture aand behold the wreckage every day, the process, during the past thirty years, by which social, political and economic power has been transferred to non-males (women +) who now regard the Deplorables (most of you) as trash to be replaced by newcomers who, it’s believed, will fall in line.

    Taking back the knight will take a generation. The collapse of our economy and the death of the narcissistic culture will facilitate the reconquista of the male spirit. We can make token gestures of resistance to our pussification, e.g. violate the stay-at-home edicts of the gruppenfuehers, but Corona Cows is like a virus permanently implanted in our minds and bodies. It will be with us til we Boomers and X’ers have passed from the scene.

  8. I figure for one thing, the auto insurance companies are making a killing. Still collecting premiums and with few people driving, there are fewer accidents and fewer payouts. It would be a good time for states to be fixing the roads while there is less traffic. But most states are broke and getting broker. Government will try to fix the economy with more debt and still more and still more. This is the last gasp of socialism…it is playing out in real time in Europe. This is what the current fake panic is all about. Prepare yourself for a whole cornucopia of new rules, laws and restrictions that further destroy what little freedom still exists. The Marxists are coming for your minds, hearts and souls as there death throes get even more agitated.

    Weather permitting, I do go outside and walk around. There is still contact with others coming over here to visit. I still drive around to pick up a coffee, go to the store or just to get away for a bit.

  9. The Pussification of America began long before the arrival of the Cornhole Virus. It was foretold in the Bible with the story in the Garden of Eden. Our tormentors know the principle all too well: Attack through the weakest point in any culture. IOWs, get women to do the dirty work ! We lost control of our destiny when we became too meek to say “NO” to our women. Men, the Blue Pill type, who seek the approval and validation of women, live within the reality of their women. They do not have guns, they seldom cuss, and they certainly do not behave in ways that scare their women. They dearly appreciate Big Daddy Government keeping them safe…LMFAO !
    When I swore to defend the US against all aggressors, foreign and domestic, I did not contemplate the notochord men that would fail to stand up. We are there now, and when I hear the National Anthem refer to the “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave” I am disgusted. This is Jingoism, by our liberal enemies, pure and simple.
    How can anybody say “NO” to the government when they cannot even say that to their women ?
    No chance !

    • Amen, Jack & SPQ!

      Nimrod started the first city-state……for ‘saaaaaaafety’, and the people all loved him for corralling and ‘protecting’ them- he became a veritable god. No wonder we’re now ruled by a bunch of nimrods!

    • Oh, c’mon, they can’t all be fops, dandies, fruits and nuts, and limp-wristed pansies. But a big cause of limp-wristed-ness throughout our nation is the ever-present proximity of America’s hordes of ever-present police, more than any other nation in the so-called free world. Last time I checked there was one enforcement officer for every 150 citizens, likely the highest ratio in the world. Perhaps Pol Pot or the old USSR had more. When I was but a callow yoot eons ago our township in North Jersey (pop 15,000) had but one full-time and two part-time enforcement officers. They were always polite and civil, except when dealing with the black-leather-jacketed “hoods,” every high-school back in the Fifties featured.

  10. I hope the sheeple are ready for a one world currency and UN blue helmets asking to see their tattoo that proves they were “vaccinated “. There will no longer be a need for papers. It will all be digital, including your money. They will have the ability to shut off your life with the flick of a switch. Godspeed my fellow Amerikans. Keep your head down and your powder dry. I’m sure I will eventually see most of the poster’s on this site at a FEMA camp for reeducation soon!

    • Hi Rob,

      Indeed. But, there is some good news – in my area, at least. And – from what I gather – in other areas, too. People – a large number – are not obeying the “shelter in place” decrees. Cars are driving, people are out doing things. Stores – including numerous “non essential” ones – are still open (you just can’t eat in).

      I am certain this can be kept in check if enough of us simply laugh at this. And be willing to risk a fine – and arrest. Is our freedom worth that little?

      We shall see.

      • Eric, I totally agree with you. We are in the infancy of this crisis. Currently it is easy and low risk to flip off authority and enjoy the small bit of freedom we have left. I am interested to see what happens if the numbers continue to rise. There are a number of governors and mayors across the country making some serious threats to what’s left of our rights. All in the name of saaaaaaaafety! Please revisit the government’s reaction to hurricane Katrina.
        I appreciate you Eric. Your writings are spot on and thought provoking!

      • Eric, why are my posts being moderated? Did I finally Moo too much? ^^ I hope you received the post I last left, as it had the information you requested. If not I can re post it, or send it to your email.

        • Hi BJ,

          I’m not sure; it’s sometimes a WP thing. But I am here pretty much constantly and always approve yours when I see they’re being held up. Apologies for the glitch!

          • Hi Eric,
            I’m having problems also. I can post text but not links. I used to be able to post links.

            • Hi William and Eric,

              I got this tip from one of our “anon’s”.

              “I think WordPress does not like the https:// bit. Trim it off to just the www. and it may work”.

              Sure enough, it worked. Try that and see if you can post your link.

              Cheers,
              Jeremy

                • Hi Eric,

                  You’re welcome. Thanks go to whichever anon gave me the tip.

                  I know this is a one man show for you and you are, by your own admission, not a tech guru but, maybe it would be helpful to put a “comment navigation tips” heading in the menu bar on the top of the main page. These question/problems come up a lot. As contributors discover fixes and work-arounds, that information could be added. For instance, navigating comments from the threads under the original post is difficult. But there is a work-around. Go to the comments only page and you can find the comment you want to respond to and go directly to that comment. I’ve described how to do this many times but that info disappears after the life of the comment thread. It would be nice if such information was easily accessible and not buried in a past comment thread.

                  Anyway, I certainly don’t want to burden you with more stuff (if I could do it for you, I would) but, many of the problems people have with navigating the site don’t need the site to be “fixed”, people just need to know how to work around the apparent problem. In most cases, work-arounds are given by someone here, but end up lost “in the woods”.

                  What do you think?

                  Cheers,
                  Jeremy

                    • Hi Brent,

                      Yep, the full comments page used to be easily accessible on the site until it was “upgraded” away. I bookmarked the link and put it in the menu bar at the top of my screen. Now I always initially access the site through the comments page and navigate to articles and comments from there. It’s easier to “catch up” that way. Of course, I also check the main page for new articles, reader questions etc…

                      Anyway, to anyone interested,
                      Put this link in your toolbar: https://www.ericpetersautos.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php

                      This sends you directly to the comments page. You do need to register and sign in to access to this page (ignore the “no login providers enabled” bit and login anyway). It lists every comment in temporal order. It also shows comments awaiting moderation that do not show up in the comment thread following a particular article. This can be helpful to those anxious that their post has been deleted (the system does this to all of us sometimes). Directly to the right of each comment there is the name of the post and a “view post” link which takes you to the top of the article.

                      To access a particular comment, click on the date and time link on the right side of the screen (in the “submitted on” column). This takes you directly to that comment. If it is early in a thread you can reply directly to it. If it does not have a reply button under the comment, scroll upward until you find a comment on that thread with a reply button. Clicking there will put your comment in that thread. If you want your reply to be directed to a specific person, scroll up until you find the most recent comment from that person with a reply button and click on that (sometimes this is not possible).

                      Cheers,
                      Jeremy

                  • Hi Jeremy,

                    As OJ used to say – I would love to! The problem is I have no clue how to and am scared to mess with anything out of due concern I might . . . . mess it up. And then not be able to fix it. I could ask Ben the computer guy but that gets into money and right now, like most people, spending money on anything that isn’t essential to keeping the lights on and food in the ‘fridge is very hard to contemplate. If we manage to come through this and back to a reasonably normal life again, it’ll be high on my Things to Do list!

                    • eric, I don’t think keeping food on the table and the lights on is going to get easier.

                      After all, we have to pay the FED it’s $6.2T it stole from us last week.

            • The same google thing that EPA runs off doesn’t allow you to post links from the same thing that EPA runs off. I try to post links from gritsforbreakfast and it rejects it as spam.

              It’s a damn shame we can’t get completely away from the G word. WP must be part of it.

                • Note, I don’t know why the http ends up in the posted link, I replaced it with www. and, when posted, it comes back. But, it is different than the address on the site which has the http:// but not the www.

                  Anyway, this seems to work.

                  Cheers,
                  Jeremy

                  • Jeremy, makes no sense to me. I guess I didn’t try your way removing the http://. Thanks. It’s maddening since they have some very pertinent articles.

                    Everything is maddening these days. I hurt my back and was taking some opioids so I had to have a drug test for everything including alcohol(March 1, 2020)….for whatever reason, state or federal, I don’t know.

                    Unbeknownst to me, the wife had failed her test(positive for pot)the month before. She doesn’t like pot and has never partaken in the 50 years I have known her.

                    I took one and was positive even though I have no pot and smoke none(although I’d like to since it would make me feel better but can’t because of trucking/ heavy equipment operation). I failed mine. I was a bit miffed but realized it was from CBD which a friend later said was a thing they were testing for now because big pharm is pissed because opioid use has dropped like a rock where pot is legal.

                    So I did a bit of research. Turns out taking CBD oil that contains a maximum of .03%THC for any length of time will show a THC positive test. Obviously, they have changed the tests since I never had a problem with DOT tests.

                    From what I have gleaned, anyone who has taken CBD oil for any time will test positive for THC even though .03% is not even close to a real THC test. I’m pissed since my problem with nerve damage is making my life hell without CBD oil, the savior of my sanity.

                    This country is controlled by corporations and now I see there’s no part they don’t control.

              • 8, this scamdemic is making it clear just how many things are connected on the interwebs…..

                Many of the alternate news sites/news aggregate sites, even ones which once had a Libertarian bent…ones that promoted Trump in the past…are now hyping the scamdemic just as much as the MSM, and even blaming Trump “for not doing enough”!

                Truly, just about everything is controlled; has a covert agenda; and is not what it may have seemed……

                • Nunz, scamdemic is as accurate as could be. We(the world, esp. those in the US with a modicum of freedom left)are being had.

                  I see Bill Gates and realize I could have been wrong my whole life. There very well could be a devil or at least demons. I have never seen and still don’t, a heaven. But the opposite now seems fairly legitimate. Maybe I’m just depressed(no doubt about it). Maybe I just know evil when I see it.

                  The wife keeps saying “Well, there is that bunch that says there are an unknown amount of aliens(offworld ones, not from S. America). It’s sort of a joke but the joke is wearing thin.

                  I saw earlier today where someone said “Bill and Melinda Gates make Bill and Hitlery seem like angels(or some similar)in comparison. I agree.

                  Has anyone ever noticed the really rich, as in multi-billionaires, never seem to have enough money. They can turn loose of $100,000,000 which sounds like a lot to me or you but isn’t a drop in the bucket for them. They expect at least a ten-fold return on that “gift” to the non-powerful.

                  Bernie Sanders seems to think billionaires shouldn’t exist and should be taken for most of what they’re worth….even though he is one. Has the world always been this evil and I just didn’t realize it? I simply don’t know and am leaning towards don’t care.

                  On a different forum a bunch of people were speaking of civil war. They are ready to take up arms.

                  I asked them “Take up arms against who?”. Do you want to kill your brother because you and he don’t agree?

                  If you want civil war, you’re way behind. It’s already happened and you’re on the losing end. The civil war has been going on for decades but you’re just now realizing we need one? If everyone wanted to descend on D.C., not with arms but without, and demand the demons there give up something, we might get somewhere. If you want to shoot your neighbor, you’d only be taking on his children and wife to support for nothing since you both are getting screwed. I’ll protect me and mine and my friends with force if that ever comes but I won’t be the aggressor. I can identify some that should be taken down but it won’t be done with a gun.

                  • Amen, 8. Amen!

                    Thank goodness for Linux, ’cause if i had to have Bill Gates’s crap (Or Steve Jobs’s/Wozniak’s) crap running my ‘puter….I’d quit ‘putering!

                    The forces of evil are coming together today like never before. You can see the evil in even 12 year-old kids these days.

                    These days were foretold…..it’s not new- the world had gotten to a similar point once before, and here we are again “As in the days of Noah”. (EVERYTHING was corrupt- profuse violence- genetic manipulation- plans for global governance….)

                    It’s a great time to be a Christian, for “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”!

                    • Hiya Nunz! Perhaps Bill Gates is the antiChrist, though my previous candidate was Dick Cheney. His plan to vaccinate everyone and give them a “certificate” which would be needed to enter a business along with a microchip embedded in your arm sounds like the “mark of the beast” to me.

                  • Eight…

                    Remembrance of Things Past:

                    Being had’s continuous. Foolin’ most, most o’ the time.

                    Outward appearances don’t tell tales very well. But tells can do…if the told can read ‘em. That *should* include all the tells in the party-line ‘round the table, too, cuz they’re all linked, connected, an organized ism.

                    These lizard-looking types (try Larry Ellison on for snake skin size) don’t do anything themselves. They pay others to do. & those payrolled others look a lot like the guy across the street & the gal next door. Those neighbors enable – always have & always will.

                    B&M might just be flusher versions of B&H. But B&E is B&E. And the neighbor folk fence & launder the loot.

                    The billionaires boys club ain’t about money. The money part, & the itch it was supposed to scratch, has long since been there’d & done that’d. But it turned out it weren’t enough. The itchy just spread & spread & spread. Snake skins do get dry. Real dry. Hard for coldbloods to stay warm too, without constant hits of heated “look at me & my noblesse oblige & my 3-D chessmanship, &, &, &…”

                    Keep in view too what a dollar’s actually worth nowadays. Billions & billions ain’t what is was when Carl Sagan was still around. Ain’t fetched too far to say these Davos deviants is pikers compared to their brethren of old, who held it all in gold, other actual things. Otoh, today’s slavers got the chattel skim down to a much tighter CAFO science. “Human capital.” People actually say that straight-faced & un-second thought’d.

                    The Alien sheds skin, too. (Young Sigourney Weaver shed her clothes & blew the alienated out into space.)

                    Yup. Humanimal world has always been thus. “This time it’s different” has never once been true. Maybe you were an optimist. Those Big O people don’t notice; they can’t. Now if you’re depressed, that’s a sure-fire cure, even if only temporary, for optimism & so clarity’s flooding your basement about now.

                    He who cares least at least has a shot at caring about what’s actually his to care about.

                    The world-handlers displace\ment what’s theirs to “care about” “something larger.” Weus! The Nap•oleon principle.

                    Bernie Sanders thinks? Oops, ya’ still got some optimism swimmin’ in your flooding basement. Don’t worry, it should drown soon. Maybe go get a bucket of Col. Sanders. You’ll taste the difference.

                    Civil war? The slippyslope of words. How about courteous war? But then, that root. Court. Courtiers & courtesans & hangers on at court & court apologists & “the supreme” court. Slippyslippyslippy.

                    Just a disagreement then, all this? And civil disobedience’ll disabuse those demons of their ways? Recall the “new” napoleons assembled had to banish the replaced napoleon to two islands…cuz the first one wasn’t far enough away.

                    There ain’t but one way to fill in a humanimal black hole. That’s to peel-flay its edges loose so’s the sucking hole of its being can grab ‘em & pull the covers of itself in under itself. Then get pretty Sigourney to blast it out into space. Or Vasquez; I like her, too. Or Sarah Connor. Maybe that Ronda Rousy gal. ☻

                  • Hey Eric!

                    Yes, and thank goodness for that!

                    99% of the sites out there practice censorship (Well…the ones that still even allow comments)….that says it all….you can immediately dismiss those sites.

                    No wonder this is the only site I participate on!

    • Rob, I doubt I’ll be seeing their camps. When the time comes, I’ll do whats necessary. Until then, lets hope for the best.

    • In Maryland the Mexicans manicuring the Governors lawns and spreading mulch are essential workers.
      I can’t go to Home Depot to buy a bag of mulch.

      Liquor stores are essential businesses but Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are verboten so those who have been Court ordered to attend them are in contempt. I guess they’ll just risk the next DWI buy driving to the liquor store.

  11. I’m appalled by the politicians issuing orders. This is also a serious disease. If you are waiting for your politicians to tell you what to do you’re already too late. When they tell you you don’t need a mask, you should probably have one. When they tell you not to worry about your money in the bank, you should probably have taken it out already. I began social distancing before I ever heard the term. That’s just common sense when there is an extremely contagious disease going around. If they try to tell me I can’t leave my house, they can kiss my ass. But I’m damn sure not going to be around other people.

    I’ve been a fan of Eric since I first heard him nail dieselgate where all the other “automotive” media completely missed it. I was singing hallelujah about his recent article about salting the roads. But encouraging people to ignore the danger of a deadly disease that is growing exponentially is fucking horrible. Just 12 days ago he wrote an article about this and sited as evidence that there were only 307 deaths from it. Now there are 4633 deaths. Today, it trailed only heart disease and cancer as the leading killer in America. At the current pace it will be number 1 by the weekend. I understand not trusting the government or the media (I think I repeated myself there) but in the story of the boy who cried wolf there was really a wolf in the end.

    • Never let a crisis go to waste. 2 trillion new debt and counting. It will be an easy 6 before long. Including 20+ million for fixing up the Kennedy center. Where Nancy’s daughter works.

      • If they are serious about containing the virus, the last thing you would want is an economic stimulus. I did the math. If I could get laid off I’d get $291 a week more in unemployment than I get paid for working. They demonized the one decent guy in Washington who tried to at least force them to go on the record with their vote on that monstrosity.

        • By the time this is over, we may get to hear Republicans try to explain why Trump ran a budget deficit larger than Obama’s biggest budget. …but they’re still conservative because reasons.

          • Hi Adam,

            I’m disappointed, too. I’d much have preferred it had the Orange Man gone on TV and explained that while Corona Fever is bad it is not the Black Death. Reasonable – voluntary – precautions taken by those at risk, as during any flu season, are perfectly valid. The imposition of de facto martial law and the near-elimination of practically everything that defines a semi-free society is totally unwarranted as well as totally tyrannical.

            • eric, I’d rather Orange Man had done anything other than move away from the speaker and let the CEO of Abbott have it and walked over and begin unboxing “vaccines” like he was the CEO’s stepandfetchit boy.

          • Adam, he bragged about spending the most money by a long shot on TV. You can see it right there on YT in a Fox vid. Way to go DT, you showed your Rothschild bailed out yankee ass in all it’s fatass glory.

    • Hi Adam,

      My position is based on two things, which I think are key.

      There is a difference between getting sick – and getting dead. And there is a difference between “cases” reported and the number of people who have – or had – this bug.

      The bug seems to be very infectious. But also seems to be not-very-lethal. Most – almost all – who have gotten it have recovered from it. 95-plus percent and quite possibly closer to 98 percent.

      This includes, I believe, myself – as well as a large number of people who were never identified as having it. And got over it. At any rate, we know the majority of “cases” are not representative. They are a stilted sample. We also know that the number of deaths, while significant, aren’t Black Death numbers.

      If they were, the police state would not be necessary – because it would be obvious that it was the Black Death.

      We are being asked – being told – to accept the near-elimination of every freedom that makes life a life. Acceding to essentially dictatorial control. Watching as the economy implodes, which will cause massive hardship – and death. Possibly the destruction of civilization (this is not hyperbole).

      Because a few thousand people – a very large percentage (about 25 percent) of whom are elderly and vulnerable to the common cold inducing pneumonia and another large percentage with underlying health problems – have died. And because a few thousand more may.

      This is reasonable to you?

      It isn’t to me. Just as pre-Corona I was arguing the unreasonableness of the extreme (because unjustified by the facts) “solutions” urged to prevent the “climate crisis.” Do you see a similarity?

      Even if The Worst Case Scenarios (dialed back already) come true, the imposition of a police state that ranks with Stalin’s Soviet Union is not worth it. Because living in a gulag is not living.

      At least, it isn’t to me. On the same basis that wearing a helmet while I ride a motorcycle is not worth the “increased safety” to me. And it is my right to make the risk-reward assessment, as it is yours for yourself.

      But what right has “the government” – these people who control the apparat and have armed enforcers at their beck and call – to make that assessment for me or for you?

      It has been pointed out elsewhere that on the order of 650,000 people die annually from heart disease; another almost 40,000 from the flu, or rather, flu pushing them over the edge via pneumonia, etc.

      250,000 (the latest number of projected Corona deaths) is a big number. So is 330 million.

      • This isn’t the Black Death but it isn’t the flu either. It up to killing a 1,000 people a day and growing fast. That’s with the precautions that intelligent people have taken.

        I don’t know the level of lock down your state is under, but mine has restaurants and bars doing only takeout, and hair salons, dentists, and schools closed. I don’t think our governor has that authority, but he didn’t need it to stop me from going to those places. I have a brain and I stopped a week before he issued the orders. I don’t think they are doing anything to enforce these orders.

        You should be free to choose your own level of risk. I ride a motorcycle as well. I do so with a good helmet, armored jacket, and gloves (Usually armored pants). I encourage other people to do the same because I know the risks and I’m not an asshole. I’m happy I live in a state that allows me to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, but I’m smart enough to wear one. I’m happy to live in a small town that still lets businesses decide whether to allow smoking, but I’m smart enough not to smoke.

        This isn’t climate change. We aren’t talking about what might happen way out in the future based on complex computer models that have been proven to be wrong at every step of the way so far (always in the same direction). This is a thing happening right now. How it spreads isn’t that complex and the models have been pretty close every step of the way. Governments around the world have taken a “nothing to see here” approach until they had to face reality with this one.

        The problem I have is with people who have a platform, like yourself, who are using it to tell people this is just like the flu. This is more contagious than the flu. About 20% of people who get it need to be hospitalized. About 10% need a ventilator. About 2% die. Some of those who don’t die get permanent lung damage. This is way worse than the flu. If you want to play Russian roulette that’s your choice, but it takes a special kind of asshole to encourage others to do the same.

        • Hi Adam,

          Why is it being an “asshole” to ride a motorcycle without armored leathers, etc? Who have I harmed? Am I also an “asshole” for not wearing a seatbelt? For eating bacon?

          How about driving a “cheating” VW diesel?

          Why?

          Why is it being an “asshole” to question the literal destruction of millions of people’s jobs and businesses? The imposition of a de facto police state and the awful precedent this sets… because of a 2 percent (per your assertion) mortality rate?

          It is not “Russian roulette” when you have a 98 percent chance of recovery if you even get sick. Have a look a this: https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/coronavirus-panic-pandemic/

          It is very probable that millions have had this virus with few if any symptoms. It is not the Back Death. Ergo, killing our lives is not a price worth paying.

          At least, that’s how I see it.

          I suppose that makes me an asshole!

          PS: The “climate crisis” isn’t – so its proponents claim – “way out in the future.” They claim it is here – or just around the corner.

          Notice any similarities?

            • Adam,

              I am encouraging people to decide for themselves whether it is “risking their lives.” There is a difference.

              I’ve been riding almost 40 years – no harm has come from riding in street clothes. I grant it might. But the risk is low – and it’s mine to choose.

              Same as regards Corona. A 2 percent (maybe) mortality rate is not a big risk.

              I think it’s over the top to characterize people who prefer not to submit to other people’s estimation of “risk” as “assholes.”

              Clovers think “speeders” are “assholes.” Climate “crisis” people think “deniers” are “assholes.” VW was considered an “asshole” for “cheating” on emissions certification tests.

              It’s an honorable title in that context.

              • eric, you must be the asshole who told my doc and nurse that I and the wife don’t take vaccines. The nurse walked in and said “Yall don’t take vaccines?” and didn’t say another word. We’ve been through it enough times they know to not try the sell.

                Did you call them and tell them we don’t vaccinate? Surely we didn’t think for ourselves about that.

                I’m amazed when some sheeple picks out someone with a certain topic he doesn’t agree with and decides to blame the person who doesn’t agree with him. Back in school we called them “that weirdo” or just “pussy”.

        • Adam, how do you know? Would the flu kill 1,000 per day during flu season? The test for cv-19 is remarkably inaccurate when it comes to distinguishing Corona (very common) DNA strains. How much conflation is happening where deaths are reporting as cv-19 but have other factors?

        • Hi Adam,

          “This is more contagious than the flu. About 20% of people who get it need to be hospitalized. About 10% need a ventilator. About 2% die”.

          All of this is false. The case fatality rate of Covid19 is unknown for a very simple reason, the number of infections are unknown. Without that knowledge, claims like those you made are meaningless, irresponsible and dangerous. You see, what you claim is based on deaths per confirmed cases. But, that is not how the CFR is determined for the seasonal flu or past pandemics; it is deaths per estimated cases. If the CFR of the seasonal flu were determined in the same manner as that of Covid10, the CFR would be around 10%. Right now, we lack the knowledge and testing ability to produce a meaningful estimate. Once again, without this knowledge, comparisons with the flu cannot be made. Those who do so are either misinformed or egregiously dishonest and irresponsible.

          The problem is explained well here.

          https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/

          It is also interesting that Anthony Fauci, famous for claiming, with no evidence, that Covid19 is ten times deadlier than the seasonal flu (which is half what you claim), has backed way off from that assertion. He now thinks that it will be similar to a bad flu season. Not this passage from his March 26 article in the NEJM.

          “On the basis of a case definition requiring a diagnosis of pneumonia, the currently reported case fatality rate is approximately 2%.4 In another article in the Journal, Guan et al.5 report mortality of 1.4% among 1099 patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid-19; these patients had a wide spectrum of disease severity. If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively”.2

          https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2002387

          Adam, did you notice the sleazy trick done by whoever told you that “about 2% die”? Look at the first sentence. Sensationalist media hacks, opportunist politicians and irresponsible medical experts trumpet the 2% figure and claim that Covid19 is much deadlier than the flu, but leave out the subsequent information that renders the claim not just meaningless, but dangerous and false.

          Jeremy

        • Your comment that 1000 people are dying from the China virus every day is something an asshole might say. I mean, you are quoting something already debunked. Sorry to be rude, Eric. Just handing it back.

          • Thanks, Cats!

            Adam seems to have bought into the same fallacy that has been used successfully to impose everything from mandatory buckle-up laws to mandatory insurance to mandatory house arrest. We have to save lives! But who gave anyone power over our lives? Yours – and mine? We are our own owners. We have the right to risk our lives and no one else has the right to restrain us from deciding for ourselves what degree of “risk” is too high – in any context.

            We have an obligation, of course, to avoid harming others via our actions. But no one has a right to “hold us responsible” unless and until we have actually harmed others. Not because we “might.”

            I have been going out in public every day – and Corona hasn’t put me on a ventilator yet. But people like Adam want, apparently, to have me arrested and/or my ability to earn a living destroyed because they worry I might get sick.

            PS: I am fully prepared to accept the consequences if I get sick. Just as I m fully prepared to accept the consequences (if any) of not “buckling up.” I expect – and would never demand – that anyone else pay my medical bills (if any)> I will deal with them (if any).

            In the meanwhile, I demand to be left alone.

            • Eric.
              You’re and egotistical idiot. If your running around in an infected state with this extremely contagious virus free as a bird do you even consider the people you may be infecting along the way? Probably not.

              You would likely infect your own family members just so YOU can get out and be FREE and make a buck.

              WAFL
              what a fucking loser

              This virus is so much larger than a fucking american political ruse. It’s a worldwide epidemic and needs to be eradicated.

              • That a sheep like you has learned to type is worthy of mention. You’re a pathetic coward and a wannabee slave. And a fucking loser. I’d suggest you have a nice Rum and fentanyl. Make it a double. You won’t be missed.

              • Chilly,

                Where are the mass deaths? It’s a serious question. How do you know what the death rate is – as opposed to the number of “cases”? Also a serious question. You have accepted at face value a Worst Case Scenario – the Black Death – that has not manifested, for which there is no proof – and therefore accepted the imposition of totalitarian authority, unlimited in principle, which could easily become permanent and result in the death of whatever remains of the most basic freedoms we once enjoyed as Americans.

                Millions are losing their economic livelihoods and life savings; if the “lock down” goes on much longer, there will be mass unemployment, mass unrest and very likely mass starvation. Millions could easily die from that, as they did in the Ukraine about 100 years ago when another tyrant described those who questioned another government “lockdown” as “egotistical.”

                Because you worry you might get sick and could die. Well, then you should stay home. But what right have you got to threaten me with violence for living my life?

                In Italy, the government health authority conceded – published the fact – that of all the people who’ve died with – as opposed to from – Corona – 99 percent were either very elderly or had a significant underlying health problem.

                Your argument boils down to: The entire country should be turned into a police state and the lives of almost every American destroyed because of a flu-like bug that will not kill 95-plus percent of the people who get it.

                Why not something rational? Why not encourage those who are at risk – of death, I mean – to stay home and so on but leave the rest of us free to live our lives?

                Do you also think pools deeper than three feet should be banned because some people can’t swim?

        • The secret is in the counting. A 1000 people a day die when infected by COVID19. How many died from it? We don’t really know. Most of those being counted as being killed by it were really killed by something else that made them vulnerable to it.

      • eric – “Most – almost all – who have gotten it have recovered from it. 95-plus percent and quite possibly closer to 98 percent.”

        Please tell me where you got these numbers. One look at the JHU dashboard shows a ~20% died to ~80% recovered rate worldwide. That 20% is up from 15% two weeks ago on a steady climb.
        https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

        Total infections is still an unknown and until this has fully run its duration, nobody really know the final tally. But dead to recovered as of today IS known, assuming any numbers we are seeing are actual.

        • Anon,

          “One look at the JHU dashboard shows a ~20% died”.

          It shows that 5% of confirmed cases have died, 49,180/962,977 = 0.051 or 5.1%. I’m not sure what the dead to recovered rate means (what happened to the other 711,000 people), but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the case fatality rate.

          Cheers,
          Jeremy

          • You are including confirmed cases as going to recover and not die. That is flawed.

            Forget the confirmed cases for a moment as they may or may not die. You don’t know which. Nobody does.

            J – “I’m not sure what the dead to recovered rate means”

            Well, it means this number had it and died and the other number had it and recovered. You don’t see that?

            49,180(D)+202,935(R)=252115

            49,180/252115=0.195 or 19.5% dead, 80.5% recovered.

            Again, ignore the total confirmed cases as they are not resolved one way or another. Only the dead and recovered can be considered resolved. For weeks the dead number has been rising percentage wise.

            • Anon,

              The sample is itself flawed in that a large number of these “cases” are people sick enough to seek medical care. Their sicknesses are then officially reported. What do you suppose the projected risk/incidence of arthritis, say, would be if the sample was predicated on the number of people who went to the doctor because their knees or shoulders hurt? As opposed to the vastly larger number of people whose shoulders and knees hurt but who don’t go to the doctor?

              Another way to look at it is to look at other “coronas” – like the flu: Most people who get it do not report it. They go to the store, get some zinc and vitamin C (or whatever) and get some rest. The ones who report their flu by seeking treatment or being admitted are the ones who get really sick – a different batch of people.

              Basing “you’re going to get really sick and maybe die” assertions on the latter without considering the former is at best dishonest and – in this case – egregious, given the stakes.

              I don’t doubt that this virus is infectious and dangerous. I do not believe it is even remotely close to being another Black Death.

              • eric – “Most – almost all – who have gotten it have recovered from it. 95-plus percent and quite possibly closer to 98 percent.”

                So, where do you come up with numbers like this? You are saying we don’t know how many but at the same time saying you do?

                This isn’t a case of trying to win a debate, it is trying to use what numbers are available to predict where this is heading. I have shown my numbers (dead/recovered) and already expressed the total number of infections is unknown so not a calculate factor, along with my reasoning. You have made assertions backed with nothing as far as I can see. Please provide your source and calculations not simply your beliefs.

                eric – ‘ Basing “you’re going to get really sick and maybe die” ‘

                I said no such thing.

                • “use numbers that are available…” “I have shown my numbers…”

                  They are not your numbers. All numbers “made available” by cartel are subject cartel purpose\s. Fictional. Not objective. Not facts. More like harpoons.

                  And still, over & over, here come’s Moby Dick. But he don’t procreate near as fast as the minnows on their 3-hour tours.

                  “Willful” dependence on liars’ numbers is subjection, too.

                  Not self-subjection, but rather subjected-self.

                  You know the cards are marked, even if you’ve stuffed that knowledge all the way down into sub-basement consciousness, and you just keep taking what’s dealt & hosanna’ing round the table the carny mirror face value of defacement. A handful of facecards that were never anything more than the strip-mined ruins of symbolism has you “all in.”

                  Pre-learned helplessness.

                  You were born thus.

                  Where the double helix crisses & crosses got’s to be borne. But even if you ain’t heavy, brother, it ain’t mine, nor anyone else’s, to bear. Beary mine heart @ wounded knee, maybe, but bended knees can lie where they fall. How’d Josie Wales put it?

                  A link in the paper chain of analogy that is the penal phenomenology of cartels & their foundation bags o’ salty water-carriers: she, the significant sistuh, & I went to meet her new doc yesterday.

                  She & I got, have had, a dozen docs, baying – ♫♪ looks like nuthin’s goin’ to change ♪♫ — easy, between us, by this point in thyme…but it all feels like salt, rubbed into wounds.

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVjnBo96Ug

                  How many times have I heard the same parsley pitches made, the same sage analyses of “reference ranges,” the same rosemary claims to unique clinical expertise?

                  How many times have I asked a question or commented & pinched exposed nerve•go endings?

                  How many times has a different name & face gotten “paid” to not solve the problem?

                  And how many refunds for failure to perform have there been?

                  She & I do the one definition of insanity thing differently. She’s insane & I ain’t, basically.

                  ((Congenital optimism’s the cognitive bias that defectuates so much. Opposites attract’s a thing, too. Again I ask: who made this shite up?))

                  I’ve gone from expecting results, to expecting different results, to hoping for different results, to realizing hope’s one of the adjuvants in “the medicine” – claimed inert & benign, like thimerosol, but also supportive good – & is the denial (of extensive experience) substance that facilitates keeping the whole hulk afloat.

                  And fookin’ hell – refloatin’ the damn thing every time it sinks itself. “Hope floats.”

                  Hopium heads also scoop up the float & smear skidmarks all over everything with it.

                  Interchangeable “new” doc picked up the vibe. Whole lotta’ docs are smartin’ from somethin’ whilst not bein’ the smartest, but this one is at least that smart. She asked me if I approved, was ok with, her pitch.

                  If you don’t know what happens when you talk straight, & straight at, a doc, I’ll just leave it to your imagination & will assume you’re smart enough to grok the vibe.

                  So here’s what I woulda’ said (imagination spoiler: if it wouldn’t have resulted in the gatekeeper deciding the she with me wasn’t going to get the pass (to thyroid hormone, etc):

                  Hell no, I don’t approve. But since “healthcare” has been cartelized since before I was born, & since there is no way to access even attempts at what’s needed except by going through you lot, what’s my approval got to do with anything? It’s this nonsensical process, over & over– so far you’re just the latest in a long line — or no access.
                  Protection racket. Extortion. Just like the mob. That other mob.

                  “Healthcare’s” not a market. It doesn’t have prices (signals). It doesn’t have competition. It doesn’t have stats that are the product of the incentives that competition (not freaking corrupted inside dealers) imposes – & regulation purposely squelches. And so it can’t calculate. Can’t figure out what it ostensibly is “in the business” of figuring out. Can’t solve a goddamn thing.

                  “Healthcare” is a closed system. Closed systems generate one thing: entropy. And entropy is Bastiat’s busting windows parable.

                  Spool that up Countrywide (remember those mortgage fooks?) & it’s not just for windows anymore – its busting everything, either bullseye directly, or “indirectly” because everything’s attached to everything else via specialization & division of labor & “just in time.”

                  Human nature loves closing systems. Nature, which holds human nature, abhors a closed system, tasks entropy with blowing the system open again…& fookin’ humanimals with closing it again. Who made this shite up?

                  Economic rents flayed off your hide by barbarians who swear Hippocratic oaths they are civilized. It’s mofo’in Fight Club.

                  The *only* people that swallow that down & say it’s good or good enough or what can you expect & ask for more…were born that way.

                  And will die that same way, too.

                  But not even close to faster than they reproduce.

                  That’s every generation.

                  Not just the current overlapping several pointing their crooked fingers at those “other” cohorts.

                  “Cohorts”…guffaw! Talk about cahoots.

                  “When you believe in things that you *won’t* – cuz wired to can’t — understand…”:

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXsxvdF481I

                  Can’t see the forest for the trees the foresters sleight of plant to divert & distract…only works cuz the lied to got big hardwoods o’ deceit inside themselves already. Lying works amongst liars – lie-to’s & lie-to-me’s together in codependent symbiosis.

                  Hope is the hook. Placement of the hook don’t matter. Even a trout knows that. And a lot of people, same as trout, need only a bit of feathering emperor’s robbing the hook, to bite & swallow, be reeled in, creeled. My creel tis of thee…

                  Just got back from the grocer. (I marched over to the produce section, but no Rome apples to be had. But I ain’t seen one of those in 10 years at least, maybe even 20.) Not only surgical masks & nitrile gloves (& mittens, mein gott, I saw mittens!), but scarves & bandannas tied across faces. And viral bulletproof plexi shields fronting the Spartan cashiers. And furtive body language.

                  But trout fight the hook whilst so many people just lie\d down & spoon with it.

                  “The economy,” stupidly, has been on borrowed time since before I, or anybody else was born. Since I’ve been watching it, it’s been nothing but Weekend At Bernie’s. A propped up corpse. And them that done Bernie in ain’t just the TBTF hooksetters. Not even close.

                  There’s a saying. S\he who cares least, wins. Not always true, but often enough.

                  There’s bushido code (set aside the loyal retainer to a master part). Those types that operate from the position that they are already dead.

                  Both these know ‘bout hope.

                  Scratch a liar, catch a thief. Scratch a hopium head, see the fear beneath.

                  People who don’t know how to live don’t know how to die, either, & so do both on & as commanded. Fear & greed for somebody to keep the fear unscratched in its sausage casing.

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nFrp7Z9wEU&t=5s

                  Been on a Bill Withers jag lately. Especially Use Me – seems like an anthem to the subject of subjection. The car radio said he died today. Age 81. No claims made it was an infant virus what did it.

              • One more time Eric.

                eric – “Most – almost all – who have gotten it have recovered from it. 95-plus percent and quite possibly closer to 98 percent.”

                Where are you getting these numbers? Did you just make them up? Fourth time asking.

            • Hi Anon,

              Of course I understand where the numbers come from, what I don’t understand is why that rate is meaningful. As you point out, neither the actual number of cases, nor the eventual outcome of the rest of the reported cases is known. If the ratio of confirmed to actual (which can never be accurately known) is similar to the seasonal flu, the number of people infected could be 100 to 200 times greater than the number of confirmed cases.

              I’m not being snarky, this is an honest question. What does knowing the death to recovery ratio of a tiny fraction of those infected tell us?

              Kind Regards,
              Jeremy

              • From above *Only the dead and recovered can be considered resolved.* As in numbers we know. Of those confirmed, known, resolved cases ~20% died. That number is rising.

                So those are the only numbers of significance to calculate. You can say X number are unknown cases but that is an unknown. They got better, maybe. They got dead but never tested for Corona, maybe. Any extrapolation from an unknown is a meaningless guess.

                • Hi Anon,

                  You still haven’t explained why that rate means anything beyond the simple calculation. It doesn’t tell me how dangerous the virus is, or how likely anyone is to die should they become infected. My point all along has been that the critical information is unknown, all extrapolations are meaningless, as I’ve said repeatedly. The death to recovery rate you cite tells me nothing. If you think it means something beyond the simple calculation, what is it?

                  Kind Regards,
                  Jeremy

                  • No. I am done.

                    Read what I have posted again. You either can figure it out from what I have already written or you can not. Me repeating what I have already explained obviously is not going to help.

                    • Hi Anon,

                      Carl Sagan once said that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I think that applies here, especially in view of the extraordinary measures being imposed. Mark that. I have no issue with individuals taking whatever steps they deem necessary – for Corona or otherwise. That is their right as human beings. Stay home, close your shop – wear your seat belt. Eat your veggies.

                      But I dispute the right of “the government” (i.e., those other people with titles and badges) to dictate to me – at gunpoint – that I must not leave my home, must not open my business, must not do business – and so on – because it deems the “risk” too high. That is not the business of government in a free society.

                    • eric – “Most – almost all – who have gotten it have recovered from it. 95-plus percent and quite possibly closer to 98 percent.”

                      Well, YOUR PROOF PLEASE. Third time I have asked.

                    • Anon,

                      Whether you won’t or can’t, I don’t know, but you certainly have not explained why this rate means anything beyond itself. You have described what it is, provided numbers and a calculation and noted that it is rising. You have also, correctly, pointed out that extrapolations from unknowns are meaningless. I have reread all of your posts and the only thing remotely germane to my question is this response to Eric,

                      “It is trying to use what numbers are available to predict where this is heading”.

                      You haven’t explained how these numbers help to predict where this is heading. As far as I see, they tell us only that in a small, highly selective sample, of a likely much larger group, that 20% have died and 80% have recovered. This says nothing about how dangerous the virus is to that larger group, the rate of infection or the likely case fatality rate. Extrapolating from a small, likely non representative sample, to the whole population seems meaningless to me.

                      Again, my question is sincere. You obviously believe this rate is meaningful and has some predictive power. Perhaps my above assertions are wrong, maybe this rate is meaningful and can help us predict where this is heading. You have yet to make any case as to why.

                      Jeremy

            • Hi Anon,

              A couple more points.

              “You are including confirmed cases as going to recover and not die. That is flawed”.

              I did no such thing, I made no claim as to what will happen to the rest of the reported cases. I simply used the numbers in the link you provided to calculate what percent of the reported cases have died. I don’t consider this number to be meaningful either, as the number of reported cases is almost certainly far smaller than “actual” cases.

              “But dead to recovered as of today IS known, assuming any numbers we are seeing are actual”.

              Actually, even this is problematic because we don’t know how many of the confirmed deaths were actually caused by Covid19. In Italy, for instance, official stats include everyone who tested positive and then died. But, according to Professor Walter Ricciardi, scientific adviser to Italy’s minister of health, “only 12 per cent of death certificates have shown a direct causality from coronavirus”. Without uniform and accurate attribution, the number of deaths actually caused by Covid19 is unknown.

              Kind Regards,
              Jeremy

              • J – “It shows that 5% of confirmed cases have died, 49,180/962,977 = 0.051 or 5.1%.”

                Then what were you calculating? Looks like the number of dead (resolved) divided by the total number of infections that have not run their course yet (unresolved). Flawed.

                “Actually, even this………Covid19 is unknown.”

                Then any calculation is a waste of time. Arguing about how to calculate, doubly so.

                • Anon,

                  I have never claimed that these calculations are meaningful, in fact I have argued repeatedly that they are not. It was not meant to refute your claim (which it doesn’t) but to suggest that the rate you are concerned about is equally meaningless. Please explain to me why it is not.

                  Jeremy

                  Jeremy

                  • Why? Clearly anything I say is pointless if all numbers are meaningless to you (and Eric). Give me what actual numbers(infected, dead, recovered) you would accept as accurate or this is entirely a waste of my time. If there are no acceptable numbers I have no interest to discuss “how many Angels…”.

                    • Anon,

                      My question to you is not about the numbers, it is about what they mean. You made the point that extrapolating from unknowns is meaningless, I agree. I did suggest that the number of deaths may also be one of those unknowns, but that is not relevant to my question.

                      “Give me what actual numbers(infected, dead, recovered) you would accept as accurate…”

                      I’ll stipulate that the numbers you provided are accurate. What I want to know is why you think that the death to recovery rate is meaningful in predicting where this is headed.

                      Jeremy

    • 26,000 have died of regular flu this year. A real slow year. It’s normally in the 50-60k range.
      Lets see what the suicide rate is in two years when 10-20 million people realize their economic futures have been deliberately destroyed.

      • Bill, we will be seeing the consequences of what is coming for many years to come. If Gates and his buddies get their way, things could be VERY bad indeed. The Oligarch factions are currently fighting over who will build the next system. With them on top of course. As for the people on their tax farms, they are totally expendable in their view. Things are heading towards a very dark future. Tens of millions of people are going to become increasing desperate, as they lose the ability to feed themselves and their families. Not to mention losing their health care, homes and pretty much everything else. Did you hear that the banks demanded that Munckin double the rate they are allowed to charge for that $377 billion Congress sent to small business? Other wise, they would refuse to take part. Of course he caved. But that was to be expected. He is after all, from Evil R US (Goldman). We are certainly living in “interesting” times.

        • ***”Tens of millions of people are going to become increasing desperate, as they lose the ability to feed themselves and their families. Not to mention losing their health care, homes and pretty much everything else.”****

          And so what happens to a bunch of people who have been heavily indoctrinated by the government skools and Zionist media who find themselves in those conditions? They demand more socialism.

          • Of course they will…And they will get it. But I doubt its going to be what their fevered imaginations expected. Too many trend lines are converging, too quickly. I doubt even the Masters of the Universe™ can actually predict more than the out lines, of what is coming. In that lies our real hope. The current system is coming a part at the seams. Major pieces are sliding around in the shadows, and with all of the variables involved they are bound to miss things. That will be vital for later. Lets wait and see what their plans are, over the coming weeks and months. Keep in mind, that they aren’t the only Players in this Game. Lets hope for the best.

            • Remember though, BJ, this charade being perpetrated under the guise of protecting us from….the flu is a calculated action designed to elicit certain behaviors and responses (Did they just whip-up the bailout/stimulus -the largest amount of money ever to be spent in the history of the world- overnight? (No more so than they did the “Patriot” Act)- and this is also unique, as it [The response to the flu] is the first time that such coordinated and massive liberty-destroying efforts have been synced on an international scale.

              Sure, little things, and especially more localized things can have some wiggle room- but this is huge; the people have already accepted it, just as they accepted the response to “terrorism” regardless of any personal consequences [i.e. gladly submitting to the groping at airports, etc.].

              Rather than any mass resistance, it seems that with each successive assault on liberty and personal consequences, the masses just accept such things more and more- and any “resistance” is not the kind we would hope for, but rather a detriment to what we seek.

              They have the minds and hearts of the majority, and can easily manipulate them- whether it is to accept whatever is thrown at them, or to “resist” in such a way as to “demand” the very things that the globalists really want….like more socialism.

              We are witnessing the last gasps of liberty. Just watch virtually any gun channel on Youtube- what do you see? Virtual obeisance to “law enforcement”, “the troops” and always pleadings to obey all laws. And that’s just from the ‘conservative’ pro-gun community- nevermind the stinking libruls…..

              Look at this piece of filth from one of the big gun gurus:
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usKRnV66b-g

              They are just as much our foes as the Hitlery-loving trannies. It both sides- who constitute a humongous majority- against us few and far between “weirdos”.

              • Nunzio, what else would you expect from Neocons? They worship the warfare side of the State, just as the Progs worship the welfare side. Both are useful idiots for the Oligarchs who rule. But the Oligarchs are far from monolithic. Even the globalists are just one of many factions of Oligarchs. They have taken advantage of the basic laws of economics (division of labor, effective use of resources, and mobility of capital to name just a few). In the process they have hollowed out our industrial base, and made China (and a few other countries) single points of failure for their “just in time” supply chains. All of this wrapped around their central banking cartel, and its control of the nation state governments. Add in a debt based system, and eventually its all going to come crashing down. But how to shift the blame? A global pandemic is custom made for that role. Just rely on virtue signaling politicians, and their shelter in place nonsense, and then wait until the system comes crashing down. Then come riding to the “rescue” with single payer healthcare, some bones thrown to UBI, and of course gigantic bailouts for the Too Big To Fails. Mix in Gates and his ID2020, and you have the “wonderful” socialist Utopia, that they have been working towards for more than a century now. If you are interested in that, you might wish to watch this video. The book its based up on (by the same name) is also fascinating.
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu_VqX6J93k

                • Morning, BJ!

                  I think – I hope – there are still enough people (a critical mass; not necessarily a majority – a committed minority) who will not tolerate what is happening and where what is happening is headed. I see some evidence of that here and I see it outside, where I see a surprising number of people refusing to obey The Coonman’s orders to self-arrest. It will be interesting to see what happens when the Coonman kicks it up and starts Hut! Hut! Hutting! people who are out driving and walking, etc. without “papers.”

                  I myself am prepared to risk the Hut! Hut! Hutting! and am hoping others think the risk is worth their freedom, what’s left of it. In fact, I am considering what to do if this happens – and how to organize resistance. Any suggestions in re this appreciated!

                  • First and foremost, get this book and study it. https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Warfare-Handbook-William-Lind-ebook/dp/B017IP1JM2
                    Second, try to stop thinking in terms of numbers. That is the enemies advantage. Think about where they are weak, not where they are strong. Second, look up this fellow and his works. They range from professional level crypto to more practical level computer security.
                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Schneier He is one of the best professionals in the business, but he is also a Statist.
                    Click here to kill everybody, is I believe his most recent book. Get a GOOD encryption program (make sure that its what is known as open source. ) I’d recommend something like this.
                    https://enigmail.net/index.php/en/
                    But always keep in mind that just about anything has to be assumed compromised, if sufficient resources are thrown at it, so try not rely on it 100%. Especially with some of the new technology that is in the works. That is a good basic overview. It may appear overwhelming, but thats because its an entire series of fields and sub fields. Why am I posting this in the open? On the off chance that it may be useful to anyone interested. I’m already on so many lists, that one more isn’t going to matter… ^^

  12. I am truly at a loss for words right now. In my relatively short 31 years on this planet, I have witnessed a once free nation go from crotch groping as a condition of air travel, to banning legitimately fuel-efficient cars (because “climate” and “safety”), and now being arrested for living, all in less than 2 decades!

    Forget probable cause; our very existence is probable cause.

  13. Report from Corona-ed Southern Kentucky:

    Is this good or bad? Yes…there were lots of people out and about- …..BUT….they mostly seemed to be clovers!

    Ya see, I went to the little town of Bumblephuck today, to go shopping; the road I take there is a new-and-improved version of the old highway that it replaced. It is now straightened-out, widened; has passing lanes on the hills, and, being a new alignment, has virtually nothing along it- i.e. no houses or bidnesses, and very few (and small) intersections- No major intersections; no lights, etc.- so, one can comfortably do 80MPH (Wich I do); One could comfortably do 100 if it weren’t for fear of the po-po.

    Well, today…..there actually was some traffic- a rarity I had never encountered on this road. BUT…..I was stuck behind clovers for most of the trip, in both directions!

    So while it may seem good that so many people are out there now- even more than there normally are……what does it mean when they are clovers? Also: Saw some people in the store walking around with the stupit masks….a first, for here.

    In other news: The brother of a friend back in NY “tested positive for COVID-19″…..but other than having what seemed like a breif mild cold, he isn’t sick. (Late 40’s and obese). (Would that he were! He works for DHS and he’s an asshole- of course).

    [In a “news reporter’s” (or maybe Muppet’s) voice]: This is Kermit The Frog, now back to you, Eric!

  14. Reich Master DeSantis has just locked down Reich State Florida for 30 days or the duration. If I could find a Nazi or USSR flag I’d fly it.

    Went for a ride today to Gulf Breeze Fl. In Lowe’s we saw the cashier standing behind a clear sheet of plexiglass with a slot on the bottom for scanning. That has got to be the most absolute hilarious, most insipidly stupid thing I have ever witnessed in my 71 years.

    At Walmart Armed Government Thugs were hassling people parked out front to pick up the groceries they ordered on line. The WalMart folks had to intervene asking the thug to leave people alone. This was in a (used to be ) private parking lot.

    Yes, the cows are on the rampage,,, again. The stores are being overrun,,, again.

    God, Help us, or at least send that meteor…

    • I just sold my house in south Florida – closing day is 4/24. I’m moving to the mountains of Arizona. It should be an interesting trip, driving across several states during this Stay_at_home bull shit.

      • Larry, good for you. Florida was once a beautiful place. Remove the politicians and bureaucrats and it would be again. Ain’t it a shame? Ain’t everything that’s happening a shame?

  15. The wife and I went to the doc together, saves us time and money. The wife took a drug test, out of the blue(new law, March 1)last month. She has to have hydrocodone so now they’re testing for even drinking or any illicit drug before you can get your script.

    She had already gotten her script before the drug test was ready. Well, no more pot smoking for her. The problem being, she has never smoked in the nearly 49 years we’ve been married. She can’t tolerate pot. So I got tested today. I’ll probably come back positive too even though I don’t use pot(not by choice)since the DOT could call any old time so there is no time I can be safe and still use pot. Plus they tested us for alcohol. We didn’t speak of drinking even though I stuck each of us a cold one in the truck for the drive home.

    There was this distance today between the doctor that’s never been there before. She simply said she’d lose her license if she prescribed narcotics to anyone who drank or used an illicit drug. We would both have been silent but when it turned out the wife tested positive I said they had a bad test. If anyone would know for a fact, it would be me. The wife has never smoked and can’t tolerate it. This is what we call freedom? I brought up the subject of the wife not moving to Mexico nearly 20 years when I wanted to get out. There are no crazy ass laws like that anywhere else I know of that claims to be a 1st class civilized country. Once again, I’m ready to leave. I don’t need shit like this at my age. No, I never needed shit like this and would tell everyone what they could do with such when I was younger.

  16. With you on this, Eric. If I let fear limit my liberty then I become one of them.

    Sliver Lining: All the Cell Phoners are the afraid ones staying at home. The rebels rule the roads again. Cops have been minimal, so has traffic, and so has fuel prices. It’s been pleasant out on the roads. However, the implications of the emptiness are impossible to ignore. I ride my motorcycle around and don’t care what anyone thinks. I will continue until caged or killed. It is riding season.

    S has HTF. It’s just going to be a slow tide. Enjoy it because we will look at right now as the good ole days.

    • It’s been an absolute pleasure in the most-densely-populated state. Our little company basically has to live on the road to prosper, so we are loving it.

  17. Sorry this is a lengthy & a bit off topic but I’ve been wanting to get this off my chest.

    When it comes to gasoline prices are we being ripped off?…let us count the ways. Most here realize how utterly clueless the majority is, and that’s a big-big part of the problem.

    I’ve been monitoring retail/wholesale gas prices for about 20 years now (kind of a hobby of mine) and in my corner of the Reich the typical spread between the two has always ranged from around 75 to 85 cents per gal. Occasionally it might vary outside that range to about 65 cents on the low end (a rare old fashion gas war or winter doldrums) to $1.15 on the high end (hurricanes in the gulf, refineries blowing up, recessions, depressions…you get the picture). So if whsle is 2 bucks a gallon, then retail in my area will be around $2.80 – your actual mileage may vary. Note: just in case you’re wondering I’ve factor’d in the gas tax increase my Reichstate adds every so often so as not to skew my figures.

    This pricing structure stayed consistent for many years, but that abruptly ended around 2016. Suddenly the average spread increased to a range of $1 to $1.25 per gal (ach du liebe!!) and for what reason I haven’t a clue. I can only speculate it had to do with our proximity to the people’s republic of mexifornia (a nice place to live if you’re an orange) and that this just might be a local problem inherent to the western provinzs of the Reich.

    Now to the good stuff. On Feb 19 wholesale gas sold nationally for $1.67 and our local price was $2.89, a spread of $1.22, which unfortunately is right within the new normal. Btw, retail had been holding at the $2.89 level since January. It stayed there until March 20 when it (finally) dropped to $2.79. Then on March 25 the price fell again to $2.69 where it remains today. So the price has dropped a grand total of $ .20 in 6 weeks.

    So let’s take a look at the recent wholesale price action. Since hitting its interim high of $1.67 in mid February, the price has fallen to $ .52 on March 31, a whopping $1.12 per gallon, or 61%.

    Now let’s jigger some figures. If we add our typical $1.25 retail mark up to today’s (March 31) whsle price then the retail price in our area should be $1.77 per gal ($.52 + $1.25). The national avg should be much less than that, but I’ll bet it’s not. Yet the price at the local pump is still $2.69! For those of you keeping score at home that’s a $2.17 spread over wholesale. Can someone tell me what’s wrong with this picture? We’re paying almost a $1 per gallon higher than it should be based on past performance which a 300% mark-up over whsle!! And btw this sets a new 20 year record. How bout that sports fans.

    Now, we all know that gas prices take the elevator up & a slow stair walk going down. But c’mon, let’s be reasonable here. And what do we hear from the hoi polloi… not even a peep. Not only do I feel dinged a bit financially, but the ole swami’s reputation has been blemished with everyone, including my mother-in-law, due to my crystal ball forecast of <$2 gal by the end of March which fell on its face.

    So things are completely out of whack here on the left coast. Gee, what a surprise.

    • Bagwan,

      The whole “price of gas” and “fossil fuel” thing is a hoax.

      Who knows what the hell they’re teaching today in our “opinions can be facts too” world. But not all that long ago we used to be taught that the price of gas at the pump follows the price of a barrel of oil.

      Well, try plotting the price of oil against the price of gas at the pump sometime, even retroactively, over the course of at least a year and tell me if that’s the case. I assure you that it isn’t.

      Also, ever notice that when the price of oil goes up, the price at the pump goes up immediately. There’s no accounting for the gas that’s “already in their tanks.” But when the price of oil drops, the price at the pump often lags by as much as a week. The explanation; they paid the higher price for what’s in the tanks. Go figure.

      Then there’s this little problem with the corn lobby and ethanol-laced fuel, normal 87 essentially, and ethanol-free gas. Clearly there is greater refining (aka more processing) associated with the ethanol-laced gas. Refining/processing takes time and resources. So why is it that ethanol-free gas is 30-50 cents more expensive at the pump? Makes zero sense.

      I recall during the “oil shortage” in the early ’70s, we were told that gas was limited and we’d run out soon. The real reason for the shortage in our country at a time when most oil originated from the Middle East, was our having sided with Israel in the 6-day war against the Arabs from whence that oil came. That “shortage” was a fully controllable contrived situation.

      I recall being lectured by commercials on TV and elsewhere, usually the federally sponsored sources, that we would run out of oil by ’85. Then Ted Danson, I believe it was him, did commercials sorrowfully decrying and begging people to what, not drive and use oil I guess, because if we continued at the rate that we did we’d run out by ’93. Apparently we did a pretty good job cutting down over the prior 20-some years to be able to have had so much left over.

      Then came the entire “peak oil” myth in the early aughts. Fast-forward to today. Now there’s oil everywhere. Man we must have done a great job of conservation. But wait, we’ve actually used much more than we had in the past. Hmmm. How is that possible. LOL

      The short answer is that it isn’t. There’s no shortage, it’s not a “fossil fuel” but something that the earth keeps generating regardless of the pace.

      Either way, the price-at-the-pump stuff is pure drivel.

      This is why, given that the cat is out of the bag on oil, we’ve changed to first, global warming, then to “climate-change.” I mean global warming was pretty contestable over the past decade when the winters were miserable. So hey, “change” seemed better. And the cows line up within the stanchions to walk to their ultimate destination, hanging by their back feet in terror before they’re gutted. They’ll figure it out as they see the blades while they’re hanging upside down. They’re intelligent people after all. Many will be counting their wealth in stocks and 401k’s while they’re hanging there.

      I realize that you’ve said or implied some of this, just ranting.

      • In ancient days, I had to take two economic courses in college. Micro and macro. I don’t remember in what course it came up in, but the professor said that gasoline prices are slippery going up and sticky going down. I spent my working life in the oil field, so was well aware of the price of crude petroleum. The slippery-sticky thing is true, as you noticed.

        • My first round in the patch was in 69. It was mostly under the radar then and the bidness was going strong even though the pay sucked.

          My next round came in 74 when I couldn’t make a living trucking cause the price of oil doubled just like that(snap). I knew fuel truck drivers who put fuel in every container they could find since it’s hard to sell the idea there’s a shortage in the middle of the Permian Basin and when you haul loads of drilling equipment to N.O. and see miles and miles of tankers way out there waiting to unload it’s hard on the irony bone…..rubs a sore spot on it.

          Before I started hauling in the patch, I’d be limited to such and such at a truck stop waiting for fuel. But hauling oil field equipment I had no problem at all getting fuel from various company locations. Of course they kept up with it and charged you more than what it was worth, or at least, what it was really worth but worth is hard to define when it’s your livelihood. When the lie had about run out(in Texas, not other places), I went back to hauling ag products and power poles and such. But the price kept rising and freight other than oilfield was stuck in the earlier years.

          After I had made a trip to the high plains, loaded cotton, delivered it to Galveston, cut across on the Bolivar Ferry to the Texas/La. line, loaded power poles and pulled an all day, all nighter getting home, fueled up and had $20 left, I put a For Sale sign on my rig. It was almost 76 and when a friend bought it in the spring, the wife hauled my old, old 26 year old ass to the horspital where they did back surgery and I retired to starve for a few months.

          I worked for a pay nothing, go nowhere job a couple months and decided my back could handle anything better than no food so I got me a job driving a truck for a big outfit that hauled wallboard and paper mainly. Before they’d hire me they demanded a letter from my doc saying I was up to it.

          So I go to the doc and told him the situation. He told me it was the last thing I needed to do. I told him I was down to the last thing but if he wanted to hire me I was a hell of a typist, knew book-keeping forward and backward and could file with the best of them so when did I start? He shook his head and wrote that “he can do it” slip and I was on the road again. It would certainly have been better with Willy and I guess I should have auditioned for Willy but didn’t know where to catch him and only met his bus passing in the night.

          1980, oil spiked again so I went back to the patch, this time as an oilfield electrician. Didn’t even know work in the patch could be that tough, made roustabouting look like a walk in the park.

          I won’t incriminate myself further. It was one thing and another, hauling this and that and even hauled electronic equipment in my El Camino only because I could get it there faster than they could with a plane. Then the boss and bankers all got in a bind, suing and avoided indictments and I drove off into the distance, hunkered down on a big ranch and waited to see where the chips would fall and if I’d be amongst them.

          Probably it didn’t surprise anyone to see me back in a rig when oil prices went up again in the late 80’s. Nor was anyone surprised to see me back there again in 2017 and worked it right up to April 13, 2018 and stopped cold. I won’t be back for another round. Insurance companies done run me outta the game. Once you hit that big Seven Oh, you’d best have your own rig if you want to work. Age discrimination is illegal….except for the insurance mafia.

          Don’t know what to do now, but the house doesn’t agree with me. I do keep my custom AR shined up and have bandoleros that hold six 30 rd mags each hanging on the wall above the bed. The wife and I made a pact a few years ago after our last round of being assaulted.
          And the sheeple call this “freedom”.

      • 37: “So why is it that ethanol-free gas is 30-50 cents more expensive at the pump? Makes zero sense.”

        Here’s why: Because people WANT e-free gas. They will PAY EXTRA for it because they want it. More accurately they DON’T want corn squeezins’ in their gasoline. That crap has a lot of H2O in it. It separates into stratified goo if it sits too long. It ruins gaskets and seals. It kills small engines. It’s government mandated moose piss.

        Amid the price distortions brought to us by the nanny state there are, much to their dismay, free market forces at work. Mr. Market wants pure gasoline- and we (me included) will pay up for it because .50/gal is cheap compared to rebuilding the fuel injectors on my Yamaha 300 outboards.

        • Auric,

          You have to read my friend.

          Agree with what you say, but you completely failed to understand the point.

          It costs MORE to refine gas with ethanol. So why does it cost LESS. I touched on that.

          Ethanol-free gas, my choice as well for the very reasons stated, common knowledge, is my choice as well. But it shouldn’t cost more. If anything, less.

          • I believe he gets it since he said people would pay more for not having ethanol ruin their equipment. Of course it costs more to make the blend. Ethanol requires a gallon of petroleum equivalent to produce a gallon. Then the gasoline has to go to blenders to mix the ethanol in.

            I’m amazed that everything that is a payoff to some corporations costs more than it would otherwise. Real corn farmers, the guys who raise corn to sell to the food market get less money for their corn. Wanta really offend a corn farmer, imply to him that he’s part of that corporate cabal making ethanol. Make sure he’s unarmed or you can get away quickly.

            Everything corporate mandated and insurance and banker controlled costs more with the exception of cotton which only paid 50 cents a lb this last year. Since GMO cotton has been made for Roundup so many years, the weeds have become Roundup ready themselves. Now the new GMO cotton that’s $500/sack instead of $300/sack for Roundup ready is bred to be used with 2,4D. 30 years ago we still had processing centers everywhere for grain. It was a short distance to take your grain crops to get them cleaned and set up for shipment to processors for various products.

            Now the entire damn cotton country in Texas and other states have no grain elevators so growing it is one of those things where you have to have a place hundreds of miles away to haul it right out of the field. No more small grain dump trucks. Now it’s just big rigs hauling to the coast. Damn, I hate to get on this subject. I get mad every time I do.

  18. Eric – “If it is, then stay home – by all means. “Shelter in place.” Shutter your business, withdraw. Cow.”

    I supported your stance right up until you deride and insult those who decide to take a different view of the risk. Calling people “cow” and “pussy” for not holding your view of the risk, or lack of, is exactly the sanctimonious and arrogant behavior of the tyrannical you supposedly oppose. Everyone can make their own choice and a libertarian would accept that. My, how things have changed around here.

    • Really? I think it’s a nudge in the opposite direction for those on the fence. If you have a real vulnerability, by all means, stay home, but people need to be woken up a bit. Think Paul Revere.

    • Annon.
      I don’t wish to insult anyone BUT I cannot explain it without it appearing as insulting because the masses are acting hysterically.

      So it’s okay calling someone that can think for themselves, that can read, that can do math are called CovIdiots.

      But not okay calling people being driven by fear that demand all of us shiver in our basements a cow 0r Corona Cattle. I have far worse names for these morons… shaking in baseless fear.

      It is NOT an opinion or a choice when it is being FORCED on others that disagree shutting down an entire nation for this!

      US Cases from CV ~ 121,000
      US Deaths from CV ~ 4,000
      4000/320,000,000 = .00001

      US Cases from Flu ! 39,000,000
      US Deaths from Flu ~ 24,000
      24000/320000000 = .00008

      Since the flu which has a greater impact but doesn’t shutdown the nation,,, why does CV.
      Why? BECAUSE WE SAY SO!

      Those of us that can do simple maff understand we are being bullshitted. We don’t appreciate being dragged along by those wishing to kiss Master’s shoes.

      • During WW11, my father was stationed in Garden City, Kansas. At some point, there were something like 13 or 14,000 soldiers there with TB, including my father and virtually every non-com there and plenty officers too.

        That’s just a single base and people died like flies back then from TB. Look at a photo of a parade in San Fran when the troops came home and everyone had on masks. But they were free.

      • Covid only first made it to America a little over a month ago. In that short period of time is has become the number 3 killer behind heart disease and cancer. (Daily numbers, because comparing annual numbers for a disease that didn’t exist a year ago is stupid or dishonest) As the death tolls continue to climb each day it will probably be number one by this weekend. This is all in spite of the measures taken.

        • “In that short period of time is has become the number 3 killer behind heart disease and cancer.”

          Hmm…let’s see. According to the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm and https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/DataViz.html), ~647,000 Americans die from heart disease (~53,917/month), and ~598,000 from cancer (~49,833/month) every year.

          Meanwhile, let’s look at COVID-19 (as of 4/1/20):

          Johns Hopkins University (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6):

          213,372 cases
          4,757 deaths

          CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html)

          186,101 cases
          3,603 deaths

          World Health Organization (https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd)

          163,199 cases
          2,850 deaths

          See, unlike thick-head “liberals” and “conservatives” who rely on socialist propaganda, I prefer facts.

          “Daily numbers, because comparing annual numbers for a disease that didn’t exist a year ago is stupid or dishonest”

          You know what else is stupid and/or dishonest? Threatening and destroying hundreds of millions of lives to save a few thousand.

          “As the death tolls continue to climb each day it will probably be number one by this weekend. This is all in spite of the measures taken.”

          Yeah, and I probably will fall down the stairs and crack my head open and bleed to death. You wanna ban stairs as well? lol If these “measures” aren’t doing anything, then what’s the point? And if they’re supposed to benefit society, then why mandate them in the first place? Simple. Because if we were given the choice, most of us wouldn’t abide by them, and for good reason. These “guidelines” (as the MSM likes to call them to calm the populace) are some of the most draconian laws in history! You’re basically telling people not to be human anymore. Oh, but don’t worry! It’s “only” temporary, just like the EPA or the “War on Terror”.

        • Actually Adam, its been here for at yeast two, possibly three months. It is MUCH more wide spread than most people realize. Most people who get it, write it off as one of the seasonal flu’s. How do I know this? Because it matches the pattern observed in other out breaks. Couple that with the traffic patterns from China (look at the major hot spots and the secondary ones). Look at the pattern in South Korea, as an example. They have done MUCH more extensive testing that we have. If our testing was as wide spread, we’d have better numbers to deal with. But that would under cut the current Narrative, about it being a Global Death Plague… Why else would the global economy be crashing? It MUST be the virus…

        • Hi Adam,

          The narrative says that Corona only first made it to America a month or so ago. There is evidence – accumulating – that this is not so. It may be that this bug has been in circulation for much longer, but not identified – and hyped. A large number of people are reporting having had Corona-like symptoms last year – me among them. A very bad respiratory infection, complete with pneumonia-like symptoms. But I (and many others) recovered without hospitalization or ventilation. Just as most people who have it now are recovering without hospitalization or ventilation. Or even a doctor visit.

          It is very important to not fall into the trap of accepting these Worst Case Scenarios – and Worst Case Solutions – absent facts, not speculations based on projections.

           

        • Don`t bring your mainstream TV propaganda here.
          You are a reason we are where we are. The tell-lie-vision
          you are glued to is why you are so indoctrinated, and dare
          say ignorant…there is another term, but I don`t want this deleted

    • So in other words, only liberals are allowed to voice their opinions, but not those with a functioning brain?

      Why are you even here, then?

  19. In auto-related news, Ford announced today that its suspension of production is now indefinite.

    Plenty of references to saaaaaaaaafety of workers were made. However, the real reason is that with almost no final demand, no production is needed.

    Sad to say that as in 2008/9, auto dealers likely will start going under as sales collapse.

    Who needs a new vehicle just to fetch groceries once a week, under the watchful eyes of AGWs and National Guard troops?

    • Trump finalized the CAFE standards roll back. In the press release it mentions it will help lower the cost of vehicles for consumers. AKA, the CAFE rollback was a bailout. Trump should have let it stand and let the rotten crooks get hoisted from their own petard. Expensive crap cars no one wants + no demand + financial meltdown = adios GM/Ford/FCA

      • That’s too much swill coming from the government even for me. First off, it isn’t a roll back, it’s an increase. From the current 34 to 40 mpg. I don’t know how that amounts to a price decrease. To cut costs, abolish CAFE instead. Or return it to 27.5 mpg

        • Drop it to nothing. People won’t buy 10 mpg vehicles unless they can pay for it. Lots of new pickups get just that mileage when worked. But you can’t do that work without one.

          The point is to stop everyone from freedom of movement. That’s it, nothing else. This has nothing to do with the climate or anything but power, sheer power overpaid bureaucrats crave.

    • I thought right around now would be a good time for a new car. I just looked at the local new car prices in my area (online) and the dealers aren’t budging an inch on advertised pricing. No signs of urgency at all. Its Q2 2020, and they still have 2019’s in stock priced/advertised at MSRP. We’ll see what they do. I’m not in the industry but I imagine people aren’t really interested in new cars right now since the future of everything is uncertain.

  20. Life is a continuous stream of risk/reward assessments. If such assessments are denied, then life itself is denied. Of course one is “safer” if they stay in their homes. Safer from a plethora of risks. Currently, we are faced with two major threats. The threat of a disease which is projected to kill about the same number of US people as are killed by malpractice, misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and other medical misadventure, 250k (which by the way is more than are killed with firearms and illegal drug abuse combined). The second, absolute tyranny by the Sociopaths In Charge. I consider the latter to be the far greater threat. Especially since that 250k number is the product of those very same Sociopaths In Charge, and is just about as trustworthy as “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction”. Anyone else notice that projections of deaths from C-virus continuously decline? Anyone else notice that if the dead have C-virus their death is attributed solely to C-virus? Anyone else notice that the current “pandemic” and its effects are in nearly perfect alignment with the predictions of Event 201? Either Bill Gates et al are biblical level prophets, or the designers of the “pandemic”.

    • I have always thought that the medical mistakes number was exaggerated until I visited someone in the hospital for an extended time. From the food you are fed to the sleep interruptions to the sloppy methods used for diagnosis and things like that, it’s amazing that anyone makes it out alive. The sociopaths in charge set up a complicated web of treatment protocols that are killing patients or permanently altering their recoveries. I am afraid of the hospital and hope never to enter one myself. The last time it was remotely safe was in the 1990s.

      • True. & 250k is way low. That faked number also does not account for the slower motion carnage & mayhem that eventuates in disability & death.

        When I decided it was time to leave hospital a few years back, I found myself surrounded by “security.” Six of ’em. I was put in a room, held there for 12 hours, before “liability release form” came for my signature. Then I was “free” to leave.

        And after that, had to make rounds to find one that’d write me a scrip for pain meds. Despite diagnosis in hand, all but one refused. Luck of draw doc, who was retiring soon, wrote one.

        Order takers & defenders of the machine they identify with…control freaks…
        …same as most of the neighborly people around you probably are.

  21. I go out daily for a ride (motorcycle) around the area, and there are lots of people out and about. Walking, running, doing their thing. Less traffic than usual. Real people and even cops wave when I encounter them, not really sure why.

    The beaches here are closed, only residents permitted on the barrier islands. All the parks and trails are closed. Gyms, eateries, etc., are of course closed. Many that were take-out only a week ago are now shuttered. That’s a bad sign. I was supposed to start a new job at the beginning of all this, which was postponed. Now the business is locked down and dark, and I can’t contact anyone. That’s a worse sign (for me at any rate).

    They’ve just closed all public boat launches and are now patrolling the rivers and waterways. As a response to that I lent one of my nephews my sea kayak. I plan to bring my canoe to a spot I know to get on the water tomorrow to go paddling with him for a few hours. Six feet apart, naturally.

    I will admit that I’m a bit concerned for my Mom, whom I take of. She’s just shy of 80 and smokes. Gives me pause. She’s at loose ends because her life really revolves around the church, and it’s been closed for weeks.

    Weird times.

    • Hi Bill,

      Since this bug is mostly a threat to older folks, the reasonable response seems to me to be to suggest that older folks stay home and that anyone who might be sick stay away from older folks. And that anyone who feels “concerned” also self-segregate. The rest of us, however, should not be under house arrest. This is justified – if at all – only by a Black Death level plague that will kill millions, which I see no evidence is the case here.

      If there were evidence, it would not be necessary to impose house arrest as people would house arrest themselves.

      • I couldn’t agree more Eric. From the beginning this has all seemed so contrived, and the speed with with the PTB seized on it to expand their control is truly frightening. Regardless of what this bug actually is, our future is going to be very different and much darker. Makes me sad for the young.

      • Hi Eric,

        I appreciate your shit-canning Big Brother.

        I see a lot of healthy looking old people out and about in Charlottesville. They appear not to be cowed by the boogeyman. The local drill sargents aren’t barking orders yet, though I ran into one where I least expected it, at Whole Foods. I’m in line beside counter belt waiting for the checker to finish with a customer when she turned to me and said, “you must stand behind the line”. I look around me. Everywhere in the checkout areas are yellow lines of demarcation on the floor to keep the catt…customers separated. If you drift over you will be admonished. When I said you must be kidding, she smugly replied, “the rules are for everyone” And though I hold to the principle that an owner has a right decide the rules for behavior on his property, nevertheless, Zieg Heil, mein fraulein.

        • Hi Art,

          Ugh. Another loathsome aspect of this is that it’s empowering these petty fuhrers – as at the store. I hope it happens to me. I will tell the counter chick or dude: I don’t work for you. Now ring my stuff up or I drop it on the floor and leave.

          • Art, funny you say that. At the local store I had a checker who doesn’t have a good attitude ever but she stood with her back to an old fart like me and just looked the other direction. There was nothing to see except other employees and they weren’t doing anything. So I make this movement, being closer so her peripheral vision, if woman have any(you’d be hard-pressed to convince me they do) and she finally turns around with this man waiting and has this insolent look and finally gets him out. So I have one item I hand her while she can’t avoid me. I had no cash so she turned away while I did the thing with the credit card machine which is crazy as it comes, even requires you to confirm after you have paid. The problem being, the cashier has to poke a button before it comes up. So I’m standing there, card removed by now and waiting for her to turn back to the register. I cleared my throat and she turns and looks at me like a turd dropped there. Finally she pushes the touch screen and I’m gone except for my receipt that she jacks around and finally pulls it out(I nearly did it myself). Then sorta slides it at me, not to me, under the new plexiglas thing that keeps her from getting hit in the face I guess since I was tempted. I left, pissed. Next time(tomorrow, don’t really need anything but am going to mention it to a friend……that happens to own the place. Let’s see how shitty she is Next Time.

            She’s Hispanic and this is anathema for west Texans. We’re a friendly, courteous people and everyone speaks to each other. I won’t put up with this. She’s running on borrowed time. I’ll have her stocking in the back where she can’t show her ugly ass.

    • Cops are waving now. Later on, they might be acting differently. They are order takers and defenders of the corporate state. They can turn mean on a dime. I trust them as much as a snake.

  22. I see that an evolving (BS) story line is that the virus can be airborne (a nonsense word meant to imply it’s just floating around now; how it got there and where it came from they don’t say, maybe magic or it floated down from outer space). This blatant new scare tactic seems an obvious ploy to keep people indoors – tighten the lockdown a bit more, incrementally til total 23 hour house arrest. It will be used as a prelude to keeping people from even exercising outdoors or from going anywhere but the grocery store. Exhibit A, Spain. Exhibit B, Italy. Exhibit C, Chicago, Exhibit D, the increasing barricading of parks, trails, and playgrounds.

    • BAC,

      The lies to-date are beginning to become exposed. Politicians are reactionary as is most of our society, as you well know. They enjoy being told what to do, but then complain about it as well. Most of social media is simply people seeking validation in one form or another.

      People also get itchy when they can’t do what they want. Many people are looking at this as a free vacation at the moment. Aggravatingly,while some us, including me, have zero income right now, all government employees continue to get paid whether they are working or not, really making this a paid vacation for them.

      Well that’s only going to float for so long and imo that “so long” will be during the next few weeks, sometime in April easily, likely once people are tired of being “locked in” against their will and tire of “having a vacation.”

      In short, the same unthinking masses are also fickle. They too react, they are not proactive. Recently someone published showing polling that put the medical industry, the CDC, and one other related agency (forget which one) as among the least trusted government orgs/agencies. Well guess what, now the CDC is the most trusted. LMAO You can’t make this stuff up.

      Anyone that follows vaccine news knows full well that vaccine safety is all but nonexistent and that vaccines, on top of being all but useless, actually create autoimmune disorders in people, so in short, they’re more harmful than good.

      The CDC has been lying to us for years, straight to our faces. Several weeks ago they testified in court that all of the studies that they claimed that they had clearly indicating that vaccines do not cause autism, never in fact existed. So why does anyone trust the CDC? Clearly because they’re not aware of that and other lies told by them.

      Never forget, the two most profitable global industries in this world, for their owners/shareholders, are war and disease. Finding natural and free health resolutions is not in the interest of the global money-machine led by the shylocks. Peace likewise is alto not desirable for them, so guess what, we have war and disease.

      No one should wonder why we have a “health” system whereby the symptoms, not the core issues, are treated.

      Likewise, no one should wonder why we are at conflict with so much of the world and how we seem to find “terrorists” under every rock we turn over regardless of how big or how small. Naturally no one in our own government could be problematic, or a political/financial terrorist, and clearly the words about “domestic enemies” in our Constitution have no meaning to the vast majority of people. Hell, most people can’t even tell you what the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th amendments are, ALL routinely ignored by “law enforcement” in an ongoing and daily widespread basis.

      But ask anyone if they’re intelligent and the vast majority will tell you that they are.

      I could write a book, but I hear your frustration. I think that there’s more of us out there that believe this, but most simply comply in an attempt to protect their wealthy, not heeding Adams’ advice. Then again, this is what happens when we have a society that worships mammon and not God, eh.

  23. I’m with you Eric! Just got back from my walk around the neighborhood, not the only one out there either, which is semi encouraging. The local DunkinDonuts is still open so I got myself a coffee and a jelly donut (alert Bloomberg and the food police!) and paid with cash, no problemo. Tomorrow I’m going to take the car out for a ride, fill it up with cheap gas, and just drive around, almost like when I first started driving in the 60’s and it was fun because not much traffic. If encounter any AGW’s I will politely tell them to piss off; I prefer to live on my feet than cringe on my knees.

  24. Just FYI, us old coots who are most likely to rebel are the ones who need to stay the hell away from everyone else and not get sick.

    But the younger folks ought to be able to decide for themselves what measures to take, if any.

    • So true. With gas at 1970 prices a drive is good. The sunshine and fresh air calls for a walk too.
      Drive to the park and bring friends. Don’t forget to excercise your 2A to.

  25. Yeah, but where are you going to go? If everyone and everything around you is closed up and holed up, you are just driving around. All well and good, just make sure you have some grocery bags in your car in case you encounter one of the checkpoints being erected around the place.

    I share your sentiment, and am doing my best noncompliance routine, but we just have to be smart about it. Otherwise your martyrdom will be I n vain, as the sheep, pussies, and cows around you (they are legion and have the power of social media) will offer you no support.

    Remember, you can’t spread the truth and message from a government cage. Good luck out there!

  26. Well they’re arresting pastors for holding church services. From Tampa:

    “He was charged with unlawful assembly and violation of a public health emergency order. Bail was set at $500, according to the jail’s website, and he was released after posting bond.”

    And he did enforce the 6ft rule in the assembly.

    The Sheriff had this to say

    “Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. ”

    Anyone remember the Nuremberg trials where the Nazi’s said they “were just doing their job”
    Well,,, Welcome to Nazi America. Land of the enslaved, Home of the Corona Cows….

  27. Syndicalism + Risorgimento = Italian Fascism
    Another interesting fact of the early 20th century is that many socialists and marxists switched sides to fascism (socialism) over marxism once it became popular.

  28. Great line Eric “because it is essential to me……….” love it. I will use it if stopped, but I doubt I will be as I go about my life. No change here, not bowing down.

    You will like this story from my son I heard yesterday. “dad, I walked into my dorm a couple weeks ago and they had this huge sign up by the front door to ‘you must do your part to accept LBGQ……(whatever)’, and I ripped it down.” Then the dorm nazi came screaming at me and said she is going to kick me out of the dorm. He said do it……….kick me out. She backed down. He left saying ‘if you put it back up, I will keep ripping it down, spread your crap in your own room.’
    hahahaha…….

  29. BJ O’Rourke wrote that American would not succumb to socialism via revolution but in a namby bamby “safety first” incrementalism. It looks like we’re there.
    I recently saw an old speech from JFK regarding going to the moon. JFK said something to the affect; *it will be the most dangerous, deadly but courageous and audacious undertaking man has ever attempted.* In today’s safety groupthink: it can’t be worth the life of one human being.

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