Wuhan China flu aka Coronavirus Covid-19 observations and lessons, America’s finest hour?, Safety over profit and people over fear
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,”...Franklin Delano Roosevelt
“We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men”…Edward R. Murrow
“In this entertainment, sports centric culture of ours, one of the actions that has impressed me most is the quick action to cancel sporting events in the interest of public safety while subordinating the money interest.”…Citizen Wells
Natural disasters are inevitable. A part of life on Earth.
Something like the Wuhan virus was coming sooner or later.
I, like many of my friends and associates are concerned about the origins and possible intents of the virus.
Was this designed and planned by the Chinese to impact the US?
I do not know.
But it did cross my mind.
For the moment I am in survivor mode.
Encounters from yesterday prompted me to ponder a variety of things and to write this article.
First, to satisfy the concerns of many, and to honor a long time commenter, is the following information:
“Now, regarding what you’ve heard about this virus and how it got going. It did NOT originate at the ‘live market’ in Wuhan; bats were not being sold there at the time, but it IS a bat virus. I got a report from an ‘insider’ in China who said that they’d be killed if discovered. This is what they said: There is a researcher in Wuhan (one of the very few labs on the planet that works with viruses) and any researcher-being who they are-wants to make an amazing discovery, publish papers and be well known. This researcher was able to isolate the virus and have it jump from bat to human. The next project was transmission from human to human and obviously, that was successful. The researcher published a paper. It was read by some. It has since disappeared. Bioweapon? Unlikely. ‘Escape from the lab’ a la Stephen King’s ‘The Stand?’ Probable. Why this research? Unknown.”
Within hours of receiving the above, I met a young man who is a friend of a relative. Someone who I had heard much about but never spoken to. A very level headed, intelligent person.
A few minutes into the conversation, he stated his belief about the origin of the Wuhan China virus. He believed that it was developed by the Chinese in retaliation for Trump’s tariff measures. Something that had crossed my mind.
This needs to be investigated after the emergency is over.
Now for the most important thing to be written.
I went to Harris Teeter for some grocery items yesterday. Not a lot. I stay pretty well stocked under normal circumstances, buying in bulk sale items.
The folks at Harris Teeter, as usual have done a great job of trying to keep the shelves full. I was pleasantly surprised and purchased what I needed.
I thanked them for their efforts. I urge you to do likewise.
They are a shining example of Americans doing their jobs in the face of adversity and America’s ability to keep the supply chain rolling.
Of course I was focused on my task.
Two conversations stick out:
- A woman in my age group and I discussed ice cream and grandkids. It turns out that she is unable to see hers because of a quarantine situation.
- In the checkout line behind me the younger woman had an overflowing cart. She has 3 teenage boys. We talked about kids and remote schooling and one thing or another. When leaving I stated I enjoyed talking to her and she said she did too because she had few people to talk to.
Perhaps I should have spent a few more minutes speaking with the first lady.
As I have aged I have tried to be more aware of the person who is checking me out in a store or assisting me with more empathy. To slow down and interact.
Not everyone wants to interact but it does not matter.
Perhaps we all should reach out to our fellow Americans as we are increasingly being isolated.
We are all in this together and should behave as Americans have done in other hard times.
Lastly, I am thankful for President Trump.
Aside from his being a strong leader, the following 3 things stand out:
- The strong economy that we entered this crisis with.
- His insistence on protecting the borders and limiting travel early.
- His efforts to get manufacturing back in the US and out of China.
A long time UNC TV personality recently stated that this crisis could be the World War II for the younger generation.
How we handle this will be a defining moment in American History.
Let’s hope that we look back on it with pride.
Wells.
More here:
Citizen WElls 
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
Thomas Paine
CW……….
………YES, Mr. Paine might well be the person who invented COMMON SENSE, and perhaps LOGIC ITSELF. The trick is to induce low IQ people to heed his wisdom. YES we are now living in some extremely trying times. There is a strong likelihood that we are all going to face a ravaging killer to an extreme which has never fallen upon mankind in recorded history. The 1918 pandemic might end up looking like a hiccup! What will be will be. If mankind is able to overcome the murderous onslaught it will probably be the result of APPLYING the words of Mr. Paine. The dearness of our lives might well stir the depths of INVENTION.
…….WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER !!!!
CW, thanks for the hat tip.
Because I’m at very high risk for contracting COVID-19, I am working remotely until otherwise directed to go in. Emergency core staff (those working directly with the virus) are in.
Regarding your friend’s theory (and we all have some theories) somehow, ‘retaliation’ doesn’t seem logical. The U.S. is one of China’s biggest customers. Why would they cut off their nose to spite their face? Yes, the tariffs hurt, but the money they make from doing business with the U.S. is a helluva lot more than they would ever make, even with the tariffs.
MA is now under a Stay at Home order from the Governor, effective at noon today through April 7. It’s minute to minute. Will post more info as I get it.
Please stay well!
SueK………..
……..as for people cutting off their noses to spite their faces………there isn’t a day that passes where we don’t see the DEMOCRATS make horses rear ends out of themselves. At least Cuomo seems to be trying to do something right.!
SueK.
That is generally my thought process on China.
However, there are evil components in their society as in ours who are capable of anything.
The Deep States.
China Lied, Released Infected COVID-19 Patients Ahead Of Xi Visit To Wuhan: Doctor
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-lied-released-infected-covid-19-patients-ahead-xi-visit-doctor
AND NOW……….
………..many American small businesses entering bankruptcy BECAUSE Mzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. IMPORTANT, and Lil CHUCKY BABY can’t get their act together. REAL BS !!!!
AND TODAY………
………….I read something said by a known DEMOCRAT. He told another person that Joe Malarkey is a “MELTING ICE CUBE”. Good analogy!!!!!
oldsailor85++
Remember the good ole days…….
When a person walked into a bank wearing a mask,
it meant trouble. Today it’s OK!
Times are changing.
Today I tried to buy some paint materials, and had to go around to a locked back door to get them.
Isn’t America is great!!
Core staff has been affected at my place, unless they’re working directly with COVID-19. We’re being told to ‘telecommute’ and not go in. I was told in advance that I was to work from home due to my pulmonary issues. I’m OK with that.
As I’m sure is the case with many other states, private labs and hospitals are being pulled in to help with the testing. We’ve added several private labs in MA, and they were joined today by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (huge!) and MIT/Harvard. This may be the only time in history that MIT (my former employer) and Haavaad aren’t fighting about something.
So, when you see your state’s number of positives go through the roof, this is why. All private labs in every state need CDC approval to do the testing, and they’re being approved at a record clip. The Federal tortoise has quickly turned into the hare, and is moving very quickly, for a change.
Apparently, the text of the stimulus bill has not been released. Um, the American people would like to see it. No more of this ‘we have to pass it to see what’s in it’ baloney. Let us see it!
SueK…….
…………..you might want to be sitting down when you see what is in it. Hopefully it won’t be another Mzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Important, and Lil Barry Soetoro sort of ACA.
oldsailor85++
Government bailout?
How bout this…
China holds over $1 trillion in U.S. debt
Relief bailout SOLUTION for America
PRESIDENT TRUMP “SEND CHINA A BILL FOR COVID-19 REPARATIONS”
OR WRITE OFF THE Fxxxing DEBT!!
hapnHal
…………..great thought!!!!
Coronavirus stimulus package key provisions:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/489575-7-things-to-know-about-the-coronavirus-stimulus-package
oldsailor85++
……another thought
President Trump
Do a Nancy Pelosi
“TEAR UP THE Chinese TREASURY NOTES” IN CONGRESS and ON TV?”
hapnHal…….
………….yep….. that probably would make Mzzzzzzzzzzz. IMPORTANT’S head explode…….she would probably go into a PSYCHOTIC RAGE, and would be making facial grimaces for a year at least. REAL PSYCHO!!!!! She belongs in a BOOBY HATCH.
Today is Pelousy’s 80th birthday. The old hag doesn’t look a day over 79 with all that Botox in her face.
Most people who toast you on your birthday will wish you a long, happy and healthy life and many more birthdays to come.
I can’t seem to say that about this criminal; hopefully, her 80th year will see her in jail where she belongs.
AND……..
………one thing is CERTAIN……..those of us who make it through this pandemic will have a new outlook on life. Life is the most precious thing on earth. When it is gone IT IS GONE FOREVER……..IT CAN NEVER BE RECOVERED. Whether it is human life, or a pet the loss becomes very painful for those who loved the person, or pet. LIFE IS A PRODUCT OF GOD. !!!!
QUESTION;………
……..once again I ask “what does humanity do when EVERYTHING STOPS”? NO PROCESSED FOOD, NO FRESH FOOD, NO ELECTRIC POWER,NO HEAT, NO WATER, NO GASOLINE, NO EMERGENCY SERVICES, ETC. ANSWER= IMPROVISE, AND INVENT. HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN DO IT?
WITH RESPECT……
……..to Corona Virus we are in a WAR. The sooner this is recognized, and America ramps up accordingly the sooner we will begin to see battles won, and eventually the war will be WON. America MUST go to a WARTIME FOOTING……. BUT there is going to be a HELLUVA lot more casualties. In WW2 each battle produced a lot of dead soldiers.
AND TODAY…….
…………I learned that people who are doing illicit drugs are potentially three times as likely to die if they are infected with COVID 19. One aspect of this is the fact that a person who is under the influence of an illicit drug will suffer an inability to reason, or rationally determine they are infected. Loss of time in getting medical attention will add about a 90% chance that they will succumb to the virus. In addition people who have a LOW IQ will be a close second.
AND TONIGHT………
………….the TALKING HEADS are once again foaming at the mouth in their rabid rage against China. While I recognize, and sympathize with affected people we must first CONCENTRATE UPON defeating the COVID 19. It is a well equipped ARMY that has INVADED our country. We are in a WAR. WE can cringe, whine, scream at China, and otherwise evade the issue, or we can join the offensive against COVID 19. This means giving up a large portion of our life style. We are going to experience SELF IMPOSED ISOLATION. Many Americans will suffer psychological issues resulting from such isolation. Such problems could easily get out of hand. I pray it won’t !!!!
AND……….
………..some recent words of Joe Malarkey. “THE BAD NEWS IS THAT PEOPLE KNOW ME, AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT PEOPLE KNOW ME”………What did this numbskull just say?
oldsailor85++
Malarkey…just plain ole Joe Malarkey
Well keep your pants on…they are coming
The Rhode Island police and National Guard are going to begin searching houses for people who came to their state from New York and demand that they self-quarantine.
Would like to see if the RIP and NG are wearing
face masks and gloves
hapnHal…….
……….interesting thought!!!
oldsailor85++
Important News?
JW Reports……..
Even during a global pandemic there is government waste to report. Here is a great example. The toilet system on two new, state-of-the-art Navy aircraft carriers is so crappy that it must be cleansed (unclogged) with specialized acids that cost American taxpayers a breathtaking $400,000 a flush. It may seem like a bad joke but, sadly, it is par for the course for many government agencies. The outrageous toilet expense is a snippet of a larger problem involving the Navy’s multi-billion-dollar budget to maintain its fleet.
and………
Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts. Lay off the sugar if stressing over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal guidelines “end date” got extended today to April 30. What will it be extended to when April 30 arrives? And May 31? And June 15? And July 31? Will be MORE than happy to be proven wrong if things turn out differently. Personally, I don’t think they will. British press is already talking about June/July.
If this particular situation does indeed come to a resolution by April 30, all well and good. I’ll post in all caps that I was full of crap. But I can’t help wondering what the NEXT “national emergency” will be. And the next. And the next. Precedent has been set.
Kind of doubt people are going to go along with living under undeclared martial law / house arrest for months. Some states’ “shelter in place” / “stay at home” orders are relatively benign. Others feature such gems as “We will LET you go outside”; “We will LET you take a brief walk”; “We will LET you go to the doctor”; “We will LET you go to buy groceries”, etc. Chicago will not allow you to go sit in a park, even if you’re alone. Some states have designated ALL outdoor spaces including national parks / wilderness areas as “off-limits”. South Carolina bans more than THREE people being together, regardless whether it’s inside or outside in the open air. The list goes on and on.
Also, while the concerns about saving lives are most definitely legit, lots and lots of people overlook the fact that without an economy, you don’t have a country. Should there be multiple other stimulus packages coming down the pike (which I’ve heard are already in the works), exactly how does Congress intend to pay for them? They can’t. The result? Hyperinflation and eventual collapse. OR, absorption into a single world government in exchange for writing off America’s incomprehensible national debt.
I used to believe that all those prophecy people who say “America isn’t mentioned in the Bible regarding the Last Days” as hysterical doom-and-gloomers. Now I’m not so sure. It took less than 2 weeks to almost completely destroy the economy and the fabric of civil society. Faster than I ever dreamt possible.
I’m still a big Trump supporter (and I like the fact that First Lady and I have the same birthday 🙂 ), I think he should relax the restrictions (at least in part) on some of entities like restaurants, churches, book stores, etc. Keep the restrictions in place for the elderly and the “at-risk” classifications with compromised immune systems and other co-morbidities.
Oh yes, and toilet paper hoarding should be made a crime. What utter madness. NOBODY poops that much !!!
AND……….
……….IN A TP SHORTAGE YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF OLD TELEPHONE BOOKS, OR INSTALLING A BIDET. WHEN EVERYTHING STOPS IT IS TIME TO IMPROVISE,AND/OR INVENT. FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR WE SPENT THE NEXT 5 YEARS LEARNING WHAT NOT TO DO, BECAUSE FOOD, GASOLINE, FACE SOAP BECAME EITHER RATIONED, OR NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN. SOME FOLKS MADE THEIR OWN LAUNDRY SOAP. GOOD OLD BROWN SOAP MADE FROM RESIDUAL FAT AND LYE. MY FATHER WAS LUCKY. HE KNEW SOMEBODY WHO HAD NEARLY A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF LIFEBOUY SOAP. WE ALWAYS HAD BATH SOAP, BUT WE SMELLED LIKE WE JUST CAME OUT OF A SWIM IN CARBOLIC ACID. GOOD OLE LIFEBOUY…….THE OLD TIMERS WILL REMEMBER THE FOGHORN WHICH WENT “BEEEEE- OOOOOOO”. MANY PEOPLE HOARDED EVERYTHING THEY COULD BUY, BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL. THERE WAS A HUGE BLACK MARKET DURING WW2. YOU COULD BUY ALMOST ANYTHING IF YOU HAD DEEP ENOUGH POCKETS. UNFORTUNATELY THE DEPRESSION LASTED RIGHT UP TO, AND FOR A SHORT TIME INTO WW2. DAMN FEW PEOPLE HAD A POT TO PEE IN OR EVEN A WINDOW TO THROW IT OUT OF. PEOPLE LEARNED PRETTY QUICK THAT THEY NEEDED TO EAT, SO THEY GREW BIG VICTORY GARDENS WHEREVER THEY COULD. THEN THEY LEARNED HOW TO CAN THE STUFF THEY GREW. SOME NEIGHBORS TRADED EXCESS PRODUCE FOR OTHER NECESSITIES. MANY WIVES LEARNED HOW TO MAKE CLOTHES, AND EVEN SHOES. A FEW OF US KIDS WERE OLD ENOUGH TO PICK UP A 12 GUAGE SHOTGUN, AND GO HUNTING. WHERE WE LIVED THERE SEEMED TO BE AN ALMOST ENDLESS SUPPLY OF COTTONTAIL RABBITS, SQUIRRELS, AND DEER. I LEARNED HOW TO FIELD DRESS A RABBIT AT 11 YEARS OF AGE, AND KILLED MY FIRST DEER WHEN I WAS 14. WE EVEN HAD AN OCCASIONAL WILD TURKEY. WE NEVER WENT HUNGRY DURING WW2. WE HAD SOME LAYING HENS THAT KEPT US SUPPLIED WITH FRESH EGGS. WE DIDN’T SIT AND WHINE…..WE GOT OFF OUR A$$ES, IMPROVISED, INVENTED, BUILT, OR DID ANYTHING ELSE NECESSARY TO STAY ALIVE FROM DAY TO DAY. WHERE WE LIVED WE HAD NO INDOOR PLUMBING. WE HAD AN OUTHOUSE, AND ALL OF THE SMALL ANIMALS, INSECTS, AND ODORS THAT WENT WITH IT. WE HEATED THE HOUSE WITH A WOODBURNING SPACE HEATER. FORTUNATELY IT WAS DESIGNED TO BURN COAL AS WELL. MY FATHER OFTEN SAID THAT IF HE NETTED OUT AT THE END OF A BUSINESS WEEK AT $30.00 HE FELT LIKE HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. SOME WEEKS HE EARNED NOTHING. WHEN YOU OPEN A BUSINESS DURING A TIME OF FINANCIAL DEPRESSION THERE WAS A HUGE CHANCE OF FAILURE. A LOT OF ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES DIDN’T EARN A PENNY IN THOSE DAYS. I FIND MYSELF WONDERING IF FOLKS CAN DO IT AGAIN. NECESSITY IS USUALLY THE ENGINE OF EFFORT, OR INVENTION.
hapnHal………
…………I have a gut feeling that things might get a lot worse before we ever see any gain. Many folks don’t seem to even care whether they become infected or not. We have two active cases of Corona virus here in Fort Wayne as of yesterday. Both had been traveling just prior to becoming positive. Where I am concerned my life style has been one of near isolation for several years so staying indoors doesn’t bother me much.
PRESIDENT TRUMP…….
………..played it pretty cool so far. He has pretty much delegated much of the authority to the governors of the states. He then can say “hey if you have a complaint regarding the handling of the COVID 19 take it up with your governor it wasn’t my doings”. He can languish by telling everybody that he signed a 2 trillion bill to help all of the people and businesses that will get hit really hard. Even with the alleged stimulus it is probable that a lot of smaller businesses who can’t adapt will go under.
AND………
……….an inability to adapt to changing conditions is allegedly a big part of the reason why so many species of animals which once roamed the face of the earth are now extinct. The same reasoning applies to what is now happening the world over, and will probably bankrupt a lot of businesses before it comes to an end……IF EVER !!!!
Such important lessons to be taken on board. I wonder how unified the global approach really is on this. Thanks for sharing! x
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