Category Archives: COVID

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Coronavirus Is Exposing the Economic Ignorance of the Left

Maureen May, a nurse writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, said:

The federal government has the ability to launch the mass manufacture of equipment for the fight against COVID-19 through the Defense Production Act. On the state level, we urge Gov. Tom Wolf to take all actions to retrofit manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania.

The shortage of some medical supplies to deal with the COVID-19 problem has developed into something of a liberal meme: why don’t our government leaders do something about this?

Well, the federal government does not have the ability to launch the mass manufacture of equipment if there are no idle production lines which can be started up, and with the orders for things pouring in, American manufacturers of the necessary supplies have already moved to full capacity production. That didn’t require an order from President Trump; market forces pushed that. If President Trump used the Defense Production Act to order more, he might, with massive government investment to build it, get private industry to build the facilities necessary, but such would almost surely never be ready until after the crisis has ended.

The author urged Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA) “to take all actions to retrofit manufacturing facilities,” and with that, she possibly recognized that the production lines for greater production did not currently exist. There are shuttered production facilities all across the Keystone State, but turning decades-abandoned steel mills into facilities for the production of medical equipment would take years. Roofs have to be fixed, building interiors exposed to the weather will take months of clean-up to be fit for the manufacture of medical equipment, architects and engineers will have to design the production facilities, construction crews and equipment suppliers will have to build to plans and install equipment, road and rail lines will have to be repaired, heating and air conditioning will have to be installed, plumbing and electrical work will have to be done, and everything inspected throughout the course of the ‘retrofitting’ process, with everything up to snuff on OSHA regulations, the sanitary requirements of medical equipment production, and workers will have to be hired and trained. This isn’t like walking into a room and turning on the light switch.

But, let’s assume that President Trump does invoke the DPA, and a few new factories are built to produce medical gloves and masks and respirators. By the time they’re built, the crisis will almost surely be over, but the additional production capacity will now be there. So much of our medical supplies are currently produced overseas, primarily in Mexico and China, because it’s cheaper to make them there. CNBC reported that, in 2017, the average hourly wage for factory workers in the People’s Republic was a whopping $3.60 per hour. That was a steep rise, and more than five times the hourly wage for factory workers in India.

Once the medical equipment situation stabilizes, that new industrial capacity in the United States is going to find itself competing with factories in Sri Lanka, where the average factory worker makes 50¢ an hour. A lot of people complained when President Trump raised some tariffs to help American manufacturing, but steep tariffs on medical supplies would be needed to keep those new American production lines working. And that, of course, means that health care costs will rise again.

Maureen May is a nurse, and I shall assume a good one. Regrettably, she doesn’t seem to know very much about production, manufacturing or economics, and the editors of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who should have at least some idea about production costs, given that the paper has been through two bankruptcy auctions in recent years, chose not to correct her.

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COVID-19 is the New Reichstag Fire

Following the electoral victories of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in 1932, and the parliamentary chaos that resulted from no able to form a majority government, General Kurt von Schleicher was replaced as Reichskanzler by Adolf Hitler, appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg on January 30, 1933. Reichskanzler Hitler quickly began accumulating power — the Chancellor’s position was actually rather weak under the Weimar Republic — and then, following the staged Reichstag fire, President von Hindenburg, on the urging of his Chancellor, issued the Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat, the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State, which suspended many of the civil liberties of the German people. Since the positions of power in the government were held by the Nazis, this decree, along with the subsequent Ermächtigungsgesetz, the Enabling Act of 1933, enabled Reichskanzler Hitler to stifle individual liberties and rule by decree.

On the basis of Article 48 paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the German Reich, the following is ordered in defense against Communist state-endangering acts of violence:

§ 1. Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. It is therefore permissible to restrict the rights of personal freedom, freedom of expression, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize and assemble, the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications. Warrants for House searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.

This is all well known, so surely no free and democratic state would make take such actions again, right?

“Govern me, daddy”: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear a clean-cut sex symbol for the coronavirus age

People are now lusting after Kentucky’s “hot Mr. Rogers” because of his calm and empathetic leadership

by Erin Keane | March 21, 2020 | 6:54 PM EDT

Of all the wild turns 2020 could have taken, I doubt anyone had “Kentucky’s new governor becomes a sex symbol during the coronavirus crisis” on their bingo card, but here we are. Or rather, here we were until Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, 42, delivered a loving yet stern call-out during his press briefing Wednesday to defiant bingo halls that weren’t closing to enforce social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These updates, live-streamed daily at 5 p.m. Eastern time, have become must-see and -listen events for Kentuckians thanks to Beshear’s combo of trustworthy information, empathy, and uplifting we’re all in this together messages. “If you are a bingo parlor in Pike County, you ought to be closed by the end of today,” he said, with unmistakable concern in his eyes. “Those parlors cater to an older and more at-risk crowd.” Forget being brave enough to face the toilet paper-hoarding supermarket crowds, there’s a new benchmark for courage: Andy Beshear’s not scared of angering stir-crazy grandmothers in order to protect his people.

“Govern me, daddy,” cracked Natasha Collier of Lexington on a Reddit thread in response to Beshear’s decisive leadership. When I reached out to ask her about her post, Collier told me that was her response to “a lesbian friend of mine who said that she was starting to develop a crush” on Gov. Beshear too. They’re not alone; just in my social circle I’ve noticed Andy Thirst where before none existed. Turns out competence and empathy, perhaps, are the biggest turn-ons.

Erin Keane is the Editor in Chief for Salon, the very liberal e-zine for which Amanda Marcotte writes, which lets you know just how kooky-left the place is. Mrs Keane grew up in the Bluegrass State, so I suppose it isn’t surprising that she would have paid additional attention to the Commonwealth’s Governor, but her article is truly fawning.

Plenty of the love for Beshear is fatherly or platonic, of course. A Facebook group, “andy beshear memes for social distancing teens,” has become a go-to repository for images comparing Beshear to everything from the Mandalorian (babysitting Kentuckians, represented by Baby Yoda) to Disney’s “The Lion King” father Mufasa (Kentuckians are Simba, of course). He’s cast as Jason Momoa tackling Henry Cavill standing in for a bingo parlor. By decree of the admins, the memes are supposed to be wholesome, and mostly they are. Nevertheless, innuendo persists. In one post, “SNL” star Pete Davidson is cast as Andy Beshear with Kentuckians represented by Ariana Grande, licking a lollipop and looking up at him in unfiltered lust; an image of Jeff Goldblum suggests that while Beshear is focused on keeping Kentuckians safe, some constituents wish he would, um, sexually choke them at the same time.

Yeah, “sexually choke” is probably the right description, because, like so many other Democratic — and sadly, a few Republican — Governors out there are trampling on the civil liberties of the public. As we have previously noted, Mr Beshear has placed a 53-year-old Nelson County man into what amounts to house arrest, forcing a COVID-19 positive individual who refuses to self-isolate to remain in his home, with an armed guard outside to prevent him from leaving. This was done without any due process of law, without any day in court for the man, and the left are cheering this!

What will the armed deputy do if this man decides to leave his home? Will he shoot him?

The Fourteenth Amendment states, in part:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Yet the Commonwealth of Kentucky, led by Führer und Reichskanzler Beshear, are using existing state law to deny this man his liberty, without any due process of law, ans Salon’s Editor in Chief is apparently getting sexually excited over it. Should we have to remind Americans that the German people were getting very, very excited and happy over Reichskanzler Hitler’s strong and decisive actions during the Depression? Mrs Keane seems to be absolutely gushing about Mr Beshear “sexually chok(ing)” his fans . . . and other Kentuckians as well.

Of course, it’s not only in Kentucky where governors are simply suspending civil rights to fight COVID-19. Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA) is doing similar things, ordering all ‘non-essential’ businesses to close down, including the possibility of imprisonment for failure to comply.

Today’s left just love some strong leadership, and that it tramples upon our civil rights, well they don’t care about that, not as long as the leadership is being shown by a Democrat, and not that evil fascist dictator Donald Trump! Mrs Keane is right there, her right arm raised in salute, shouting “Seig heil!” right along with the rest of the crowd.

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The Left Love Them Some Authoritarianism!

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” It would seem that Tony Perman, an associate professor of music at Grinnell College, deserved neither Liberty nor Safety:

Coronavirus in China kept me under quarantine. I felt safer there than back in the U.S.

Our laissez-faire attitude, prioritization of personal freedom and utter lack of government leadership have left Americans confused and exposed.

by Tony Perman | March 14, 2020 | 11:17 AM EDT

When my family returned to the United States after six weeks of quarantine in Shanghai, our friends and relatives responded with congratulations and relief that we were finally safe. Less than a week since arriving back home, however, we don’t quite share our loved ones’ sentiments. We felt safer in Shanghai as conditions improved than we do in the U.S.

Our anxiety was triggered as soon as we stepped on American soil. In China, airport medical checks happened before we were allowed into areas with other passengers. At Chicago O’Hare International Airport, we waited in line with hundreds of other passengers at border security before finally being identified as having just returned from China. At that point, we were escorted to the side by an apologetic young man in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention jacket who checked our temperatures and gave us a packet informing us that, as individuals traveling from China, the CDC requested we isolate ourselves as much as possible for 14 days. Airport staff never even asked where we were going.

I’ve now lived through a coronavirus quarantine in the two countries, and the differences are stark well beyond their airports. In China, the obligation to isolate felt shared and the public changed their habits almost immediately. Sterilization, cleanliness and social distancing were prioritized by everyone at all times. Rightly or wrongly, the Chinese state’s heavy-handed approach seemed to work.

In contrast, individual liberty is the engine that drives American exceptionalism. There are certainly valid questions about how much of it to sacrifice in the name of the public good, but our laissez-faire attitude, prioritization of personal freedom and utter lack of government leadership have left Americans confused and exposed.

There’s more at the original.

There are, of course, many reasons to feel safer in the People’s Republic of China: the crime rate is extremely low, and private ownership of firearms is almost entirely forbidden. From Wikipedia:

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun (Chinese: 枪杆子里面出政权; pinyin: Qiānggǎn zi lǐmiàn chū zhèngquán) is a phrase which was coined by Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. The phrase was originally used by Mao during an emergency meeting of the Communist Party of China on 7 August 1927, at the beginning of the Chinese Civil War. Mao employed the phrase a second time on 6 November 1938, during his concluding speech at the sixth Plenary Session of the CPC’s sixth Central Committee; again, the speech was concerned with the Civil War, and now also with World War II. A portion of the 1938 speech was excerpted and included in Mao’s Selected Works, with the title “Problems of War and Strategy”. Finally in 1964, the central phrase was reproduced again and popularized as an early quotation in Mao’s Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.

The Chinese Communist Party knew all of that, and that is why they made private ownership of firearms illegal: the Communists didn’t want anyone else to have political power.

And thus China is safe, far safer than the United States in many respects. People are very safe there . . . as long as they keep their mouths shut, don’t rock the boat, and do as they are told. The “prioritization of personal freedom” is something nobody has to worry about in the People’s Republic, because it doesn’t exist. Criticize the Chinese government, the way Dr Perman did ours? That will earn you a quick trip to the police station, and probably many, many years being taught the error of your ways in prison, and Chinese prisons are not nice places.

It is easy for the Chinese government to impose the conditions they wanted: the people knew, do it or go to jail.

I am loathe to credit this response to some kind of ingrained “collectivism” that has developed during decades of Communist Party rule, but the communal buy-in to the need for universal behavior change was astonishing. Certainly the reality of authoritarian control, the subservience of the individual to the state or the collective, and the pressure to conform made widespread habit change both more feasible and acceptable, even if due to fear of retribution. But there was a palpable “all for one and one for all” ethos.

Perhaps Dr Perman, who seemingly approves of Communist controls, given that his wife and he moved their family to Shanghai “to give our son the chance to live a Chinese life,” is loathe to attribute the collective response to decades of tyranny, but I am not. The “subservience of the individual to the state or the collective” is apparently something he was willing to accept if he was going to emigrate from the US to the PRC.

Of course, he’s hardly the only American to do that. Führer und Reichskanzler Beshear nutzt COVID-19 als eigenes Reichstagsfeuer, und die Demokraten heben die Arme und rufen: Seig heil!

So, yes, we can impose more stringent protections against COVID-19 . . . if we are willing to surrender the “individual liberty (that) is the engine that drives American exceptionalism.” Dr Perman apparently is; real Americans, not so much.