Coronavirus hype biggest political hoax in history - OPINION
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The new coronavirus is real.
The response to the coronavirus is hyped. And in time, this hype will be revealed as politically hoaxed.
In fact, COVID-19 will go down as one of the political world’s biggest, most shamefully overblown, overhyped, overly and irrationally inflated and outright deceptively flawed responses to a health matter in American history, one that was carried largely on the lips of medical professionals who have no business running a national economy or government.
The facts are this: COVID-19 is a real disease that sickens some, proves fatal to others, mostly the elderly — and does nothing to the vast majority.
That’s it.
That, in a nutshell, is it.
Or, in the words of Dan Erickson and Artin Massih, doctors and co-owners of Accelerated Urgent Care in Bakersfield, California: Let’s get the country reopened — and now.
“Do we need to still shelter in place? Our answer is emphatically no. Do we need businesses to be shut down? Emphatically no. … [T]he data is showing it’s time to lift,” Erickson said , in a recent interview.
He’s right. They’re right.
The data to keep America closed and Americans closed in simply doesn’t exist.
If truth be told, it’s questionable it ever did.
The scientists leading the coronavirus shutdown charge predicted in March that in America, between 100,000 and 250,000 would die. They based those estimates on computer modeling.
But at the same time they were basing those estimates on computer modeling, they were acknowledging that computer modeling is inaccurate and errs on the side of hype.
“I’ve never seen a model of the diseases I’ve dealt with where the worst-case actually came out,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of President Donald Trump’s White House coronavirus task force, during a CNN interview in March. “They always overshoot.”
Catch that? Fauci’s message: Computer models are flawed and inaccurate and always overestimate the problem.
But from these faulty overinflated computer figures came all the constitutionally questionable actions by government anyway — from ordering businesses closed to quarantining-slash-house arresting American citizens to doing some quick and pitiful and economically painful income redistribution schemes via stimulus funds’ legislation.
Since, about 56,000 have died in America due to coronavirus — or have they? Again, the facts are flimsy.
Government ordered hospitals weeks ago to stop performing elective surgeries to make way for the projected numbers of coronavirus patients. So they did. And in so doing, they cut off their revenue streams. So Congress passed legislation giving hospitals billions of dollars to treat coronavirus patients. Conflict of interest? Yikes. Yes.
The coronavirus counts, already flawed from computer modeling, were then given another flaw treatment.
“[Pennsylvania] removes more than 200 deaths from official coronavirus count as questions mount about reporting process, data accuracy,” The Inquirer reported .
Add to that the ever-changing nature of a virus that spreads by air and contact, and honestly, suddenly, even expert Fauci’s best guess is about as good as Joe Neighbor’s best guess. So that leaves common sense, combined with knowledge of past viruses, to guide.
But the quote-unquote medical experts refused to go there, refused to acknowledge common sense, refused to compare with past viruses in any way that didn’t hype the coronavirus counts.
This virus was different, Americans were told. This virus was far more contagious than anything ever before seen or studied, Americans were told. And any time the case counts dropped off and the numbers proved wrong, well, this was due to the social distancing and quarantining and face-mask wearing that Americans had been doing, by government’s order — Americans were told.
It just didn’t make sense.
It just doesn’t add up.
It just didn’t, and doesn’t, justify the utter shredding of civil rights.
And now some in the medical community, thank goodness, are starting to point out the glaring omissions of logic and fact that have plagued this overhyped, overreaching coronavirus crackdown that has stretched on far, far too long.
Among some of Erickson ’s remarks: “This is immunology — microbiology 101. This is the basis of what we’ve known for years: When you take human beings and you say, ‘Go into your house, clean all your counters, Lysol them down’ … what does it do to our immune system? … Sheltering in place decreases your immune system.”
And this: “Any time you have something new in the [medical] community, it sparks fear — and I would have done what Dr. Fauci did … initially. … But you know, looking at theories and models — which is what these folks use — is very different than the way the actual virus presents itself throughout communities.”
And this: “Do you think you’re protected from COVID when you wear gloves that transfer disease everywhere? … We wear masks in an acute setting to protect us. [But] we’re not wearing masks. Why is that? Because we understand microbiology. We understand immunology. And we want strong immune systems. I don’t want to hide in my home, develop a weak immune system and then come out and get disease.”
And this: “When I’m writing up my death report I’m being pressured to add COVID. Why is that? Why are we being pressured to add COVID? To maybe increase the numbers, and make it look a little bit worse than it is. We’re being pressured in-house to add COVID to the diagnostic list when we think it has nothing to do with the actual cause of death. The actual cause of death was not COVID, but it’s being reported as one of the diseases processes. … COVID didn’t kill them, 25 years of tobacco use killed.”
Does it get any clearer than that?
Seriously, America. The only reason America is still in shutdown mode is political.
Either politicians are too afraid to make any move that might come back to bite them politically or politicians are using this coronavirus to political advantage — to, say, pass gun control laws, like Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam. Or to, say, float campaign hopes on the current ravaged economy, like former Vice President Joe Biden and oh, all the Democrats facing races.
But for the rest of America — the rest of hardworking, freedom-loving America — it’s time to reel in the radically unconstitutional.
“If you’re going to dance on someone’s constitutional rights, you better have a good reason — you better have a really good reason, not just a theory,” Erickson said. “The data is showing us it’s time to lift … so if we don’t lift, what is the reason?”
That is the key question.
As time goes by, the answer will only become more and more evident. The coronavirus may be real — but the hype is hoaxed. Now let’s just hope this is a one-time hoax that doesn’t roll around every time flu season approaches.
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The data to keep America closed and Americans closed in simply doesn’t exist.
If truth be told, it’s questionable it ever did.
The scientists leading the coronavirus shutdown charge predicted in March that in America, between 100,000 and 250,000 would die. They based those estimates on computer modeling.
But at the same time they were basing those estimates on computer modeling, they were acknowledging that computer modeling is inaccurate and errs on the side of hype.
“I’ve never seen a model of the diseases I’ve dealt with where the worst-case actually came out,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of President Donald Trump’s White House coronavirus task force, during a CNN interview in March. “They always overshoot.”
Catch that? Fauci’s message: Computer models are flawed and inaccurate and always overestimate the problem.
Better to overestimate than underestimate.
But is it better to fear monger and attempt to induce panic, rather than use science, logic, and common sense in considering the problem.
If people are panicked, that's because they're the ones being irrational rather than using logic or common sense. Scientists actually deal with diseases. But they also need to know the potential severity and inform people as to the best ways to avoid being infected.
Whenever the models come in, -
I've never seen a model of the diseases - computer models.
What will your next truncation of Fauci's comment look like?
Fauci and Dirx RELY on computer models. They've presented images of them during their briefings and they've actually cited the IMHE website. Just stop.
Interpretation - perception - ya oughta try'm.
Facts - cogency - ya oughta try'm.
So, as usual, you have no discussion - just jab and run.
Sad.
Banana oil.
Not good for going down hill either.
Many scientists and physicians have stated that the oft-quoted computer models don't factor in mitigation.
Another interesting detail is that many reports about testing and deaths are counted like this:
This article is dangerous and you by spreading it you are endangering the public welfare.
These two appeared on Fox News, multiple times I think.
They serve a purpose for the corona virus deniers.
So have Bernie Sanders, De Blasio, Cuomo, Murphy, Sharpton, Klobuchar, etc. Your point?
There are no Wuhan virus deniers here.
Hilarious that you're trying to re-brand it to deflect any collective responsibility and blame one racial group or culture. Does that mean I can just re-brand the deniers and claim they are infected with dumb-shits disease? Because it's pretty clear they have been showing severe symptoms, especially in this seed.
Think you'll notice that it is an OPINION piece - the other side of the story????
Nothing in the opinion opts for DO IT OR ELSE - don't eat chlorine tablets - don't slip on a banana peel - don't walk in front of a bus - don't stick your finger in an electrical socket.
No, the article is not dangerous. If that's the case, then at least 50% of the articles on the FP are dangerous as most of them are BS or lies.
Perhaps then you'd be willing to move it from News & Politics to Oo/Ed where it belongs.
Spot on there 1st but when an article doesn't push a popular narrative for a given venue, it will be attacked mercilessly regardless.
Groupthink at its worst ......
Yep, and then the trolls and the deflectors start hammering on the irrelevant technical details.
This article is based on opinions of two doctors in Bakersfield that run an urgent care clinic. Of course they think the covid response is a hoax. They want their clinic to be busy again, that's it. If their one-star yelp reviews are to be believed you would never step foot in their clinic.
You hit it on the head Pat.
We must all remember that our opinion is NOT the only opinion and there are some opinions that will flat out kill ya.
They actually own 7 or 8 of these clinics, it's unclear if their headquarters is listed twice or actually sees patients.
I imagine they want more floor traffic for sure.
Some of them are in strip malls while a few are rather large buildings that must cost quite a bit to rent.
Just saying, these two guys are much more businessmen now, than practicing doctors.
Disagree with the opinion, attack the opinion by making allusion to what you consider an ulterior motive in order to denigrate said opinion?
ok,, lets say you own 10 gas stations and don't know anyone who has died from this virus.
Would you not be antsy for the public to get going? Start traveling? Start buying gas again? Buy snacks at the gas station
or get their cars fixed? That's what businesses do.
Someone has to worry about inventory, rent, electric, taxes, payroll etc.
Any businessman is going to have the same reaction that Erickson and Massih have expressed.
They just happen to be doctors claiming special opinions.
Their opinions are not special because of their education or chosen profession.
Gas stations and auto repair shops are open
Once again, an analogy is a complete waste of your time.
Hense my comment #3.
It likely got much larger circulation in the Washington Times and other conservative sites that use their opinion articles than by 1st seeding it here.
If you truly believe this ''opinion'' 1st, then you should just move on over to the Navajo rez or any Pueblo's close to you and explain to them that this virus is all overblown BS.
Everyone that thinks it a hoax should visit NYC and volunteer to move the victim's remains with out any PPE.
Sound reasonable?
sounds reasonable and logical to me. right wing radio has been hyping these two quacks for weeks. their indirect facilitation of possible disease expansion with their herd immunity theory amounts to risking the extermination of america's most vulnerable. all for the sake of the ridding the economy of their idea of human liabilities and to get the incompetent fool that allowed covid-19 to get this far by ignoring the warnings of health experts for more than two months at the onset.
... incompetent fool re-elected...
oops, edit error...
Where did I say I believed this opinion? I put it out because there are other thought paths regarding this issue and I truly expect ADULTS to be able to discuss OTHER concepts - such as is being put forth in this opinion piece.
Speaking from experience of many, many years, a seeder rarely published something he or she wants to be
trashed and attacked.
The opposite is almost always true in a political atmosphere.
Well perhaps an ADULT such as yourself would have explained that in their intro or first comment. You can review your first comment and try to explain to me that you are not hyping this opinion.
What other concept did the article discuss other than the numbers are a hoax and we need to open up the country?
I'm more than willing to discuss other concepts but you have to put one forward to have a discussion like an adult.
And that's the problem both with this board as well as life in general any more. We are no longer allowed to discuss other concepts or ideas, we must always be in lockstep or we get called out. It gets very frustrating at times.
You know better than that.
I don't need to explain myself. If you'll note, the title states specifically that this is an opinion piece. I don't have to get on a soapbox and shout out that this is not MY opinion, but is the opinion of the author.
Most adults would recognize that "silent statement", especially most adults who know me and have had discussions with me on various topics.
The article is very clear - there is a lot of unreliable information being thrown around by all - computer modeling is inaccurate - death count is inaccurate - lab results aren't satisfactory - number of strains current are incorrect. It is up to the person(s) reading the article to make up their mind as to what is/is not believable - and that's what adults are usually good at doing - making up their own mind with the information available.
I mentioned that ''opinion'' in my first comment to you.
Then I must not be an adult since a ''silent statement'' is one that is not heard or seen and as I stated in my previous comment you did nothing to dissuade one from thinking that you were in agreement with the opinion piece.
All of those items you listed as unreliable are two doctors' opinions. If you like you should research the number of deaths from the virus in nursing homes and veterans' homes that were not being counted.
You can make it crystal clear by letting me or the readers of the article if this is your belief or not.. It's up to you.
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Great video Kavika.
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I took it there.
Tell me all about it. You are so right on about all that you said here. 🇺🇸🗽🦅👌👍👏
Tyrants Gone Wild – Ben Garrison Cartoon
Posted by: Ben Garrison in Political Cartoons May 4, 20201 Comment
The coronavirus gave many of the so-called leaders in this country an opportunity to reveal their true selves. Many may have suspected before, but now all doubt has been removed: They’re vicious tyrants.
Across the country, many mayors, governors, and congressional leaders have demonstrated just what control freaks they really are. Gavin Newsom, head tyrant of California, has closed all beaches. No, you can’t enjoy the waves, salt air, and sunlight—all virus destroyers—because he said so. He’s going to tell all Californians what they can and cannot do. Shut up and obey!
Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer is a real piece of work. She denounced those who protested the lockdown as ‘racist.’ She made sure every Walmart store taped off their gardening sections because she considers them ’ non-essential.’ She gets to decide what you can and cannot buy.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is having a field day. He wants his city locked down until at least July. Probably after July 4th so Americans can’t get together and celebrate Independence Day. The mayor crossed the line by threatening Jews who were holding prayer meetings and funerals. He instructed the police to ‘round them up!’
Many sheriffs and policemen have been behaving disgracefully. I saw a video in which the local sheriff and his deputy threatened a mother because her child went next door to play with a neighbor child. Oh no, can’t have that kind of freedom! The sheriff could have ignored it enforcing such an unconstitutional directive, but no…they love arresting, fining, and yelling at the sheeple. They are in tyrant heaven.
The worst tyrant of them all is the sociopath Bill Gates. His 100 billion dollar fortune has enabled him to greatly influence the medical field in a global manner, even though Bill is not trained in medicine. He doesn’t have a medical degree or even a college degree. He does have experience in dirty dealing. He was a ruthless businessman who shafted other programmers as he cobbled together a buggy and virus-riddled windows operating system. Now that squeaky-voiced geek…that nerd…that unelected ‘authority’ … that TYRANT…wants to control us all through a vile vaccine with built-in tracking technology. If you don’t take his shot, you won’t be able to travel or work. We must not let Kill Bill have his way.
A horrific and dystopian future awaits us all if we don’t start pushing back against the tyrants. We don’t need their permission to be human beings.
—Ben Garrison
Well, if you knew my background, you'd see that I was "trained" another way.:-)
Too bad that's from a well-known Repub media site - shows you just how futched up "somebody's" knowledge/experience and total lack thereof will, if followed, cause a lot of irreparable harm to our citizens.
Then I apologize for falling into the "social media mindset".
No worries
Not everybody was raised the same way.
1st, you seeded an article lauding two doctors that have been widely debunked. It takes about 15 seconds to find expert opinion that thinks the two doctors are way off base. This is only one of the many rebuttals of their conclusions.
John - the most intelligent comment in that thread is - "The problem, of course, is that estimating, for example, prevalence of exposure to COVID-19 and case fatality rates is very difficult in the middle of a pandemic in which there is insufficient testing, case numbers are still climbing, and the antibody tests likely have high false positive rates, and if you don’t have any training you don’t even know what you don’t know.
IMHO, the two Doc's used the typical polling mechanism - don't set any boundaries nor criteria, but select a population that "may" give you the basis for the results you want.
I am not advocating their rationale - I'm just posting an opposing view for discussion purposes.
The dumbass article is opinion. A damn bad no good lying wrongheaded ill conceived stupid misleading and dangerous opinion. Butt, an opinion none the less...
Glad to see that you have an open mind and the ability to intelligently discuss it. Come back after a couple cups of coffee.
BTW - everyone has an opinion and, in this country, they are free to voice that opinion.
You know what they say about opinions.
Sorry….but I just see regular "Influenza" numbers, hyped to "Extorsion Levels" by the media !
Researcher "Pre-Prints" have been flowing freely, and the "Media" picks out the ones they want to run with for a "sale/Money".
Pretty Sad.
Weird, what happened to my comment?
True to an extent, but that depends on where the final body count comes in. So far we are less than 60 days in, record time to reach 70,000 and not a good omen for the next 9 or 10 months.
Previous pandemics in the US usually run 12 to 13 months then burn out on their own. that is likely with Covid also and it will mutate and come back, most likely weaker, that has been the trend.
Their is no mention of the pandemics or what Eisenhower did in 1957-58. the CDC estimates that 116,000 were killed.
I remember my parents were much more concerned about polio than any expected flu.
During the 68-69 pandemic everyone from Lydon Johnson down was focused on Vietnam. The
CDC estimated that 100,000 died.
Not even a mention of flu epidemics on their respective Wikipedia pages, it was business as usual.
In 2009 while trying to claw our way out of the worst economy ever, Obama turned over the pandemic to the CDC.
Thankfully we had tissue samples from 1918 which had been researched off and on for decades, we had much better hospital care and vaccines came to market within months. DCD estimates less than 13,000 died in addition to the regular 40,000 seasonal flu deaths which are all now variants of H1N1.
It is kind of ironic that influenza numbers aren't being announced. Leads me to believe that there is a possibility that part of the Covid cases could be nothing more than the flu.
Always exasperated by the wide ranges.
They can identify the various strains though DNA or RNA testing, hence all of insistence on testing.
And are they doing the testing? IF they are, it's not being reported. Until then it doesn't change my statement.
Yes postpartum.
Sure it is, on their website. Like I said it has a wide range and gets into the chicken or egg conundrum.
Did the patient die from the flu? Did the flu cause cardiac arrest or did a life time of smoking?
No one can agree.
Sandy - that's pretty much what a lot of folks, scientific and non-scientific, are saying. We don't know enough about what's happening to be making pronouncements that it is/is not safe to go about normal living because "we have a cure coming". That cure may not be here from anywhere of 6 months to 36 months. The disease "may" start becoming less lethal - but, then again, it may become very lethal.
Everyone knows pretty much that the "numbers" being crunched aren't exact. They are either overstated or underestimated - but we don't know. The Federal, State and local GOVERNMENTS are making decisions based on not quite correct/accurate data. The medical field are the experts and the politicians should just shut the hell up and let the medical folks do their work.
All this crap of blaming Trump and this administration is BS. NONE of them are medical experts and they are just answering with wing-it responses in an effort to attempt to calm folks down. But, we have so many "politicians" who, because of their position of power, believe they know what's best for all.
Excellent info - thanks.
There's a difference between working with numbers that you know aren't exact, but are the best you can obtain, and making broad pronouncements based on numbers that you should know are skewed, but apparently either don't know or won't admit to knowing. These guys should know that they're working with flawed data, but they forge on ahead, anyway, and made pronouncements that were, in their own words, emphatic.
That's stupid. It shows either a real or willful ignorance of science. In statistics, if your sample is lousy, all the data you extrapolate from that sample was lousy. These guys either ignored or forgot that, and we're supposed to base policy on their bad science? These medical guys demonstrably are not experts, but they have an MD behind their names, so people take what they say as gospel.
I think that those who stand by the opinion that it's all a hoax should just put their health and life where their mouth is - rip off the mask, go out and congregate, cough and sneeze on your spouse and kids, and everyone else you can possibly come close to. What the hell, it's all just a hoax, fake news, there's no reason to panic.