Jeopardy

I avoided commenting on the "Chinese Virus" controversy a few weeks ago because it epitomized the idiocy of PC-think. There is ample precedent for naming a virus after its geographic place of origin, but when social justice warriors (who never heard a statement that didn't imply that their opponents were "racist") got into the fray, rational thinking went out the window.

Enter Bill Maher. I have to admit that it's rare when I agree with Maher, but it does happen once in while. In a recent commentary on his HBO show, he talks about "The Chinese Virus." His comments are worth a listen:

In recent weeks, the Left has been fond of saying that the COVID-19 crisis and our response to it are a consequence of "late stage capitalism." The fact that this is nonsensical and approaches borderline idiotic isn't surprising, given the source. On the other hand, it is true that the authoritarian regime inside China, along with their penchant for secrecy, and their cover-up of early COVID-19 information makes one think that China is a clear example of late stage socialism.

As an aside, a wag on Facebook created a meme that said (paraphrasing):

Over the past month, we've all experienced shortages, empty shelves, and long lines for services run by incompetent bureaucrats.

How do you like your first introduction to socialism?

But I digress.

As Bill Maher correctly points out, China—not capitalism or Donald Trump or even the FDA or the CDC—is the reason that we were unable to prepare early for COVID-19. Chinese inaction and silence in November/December and early January, when it mattered most, put the entire world in jeopardy.


UPDATE:
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It looks as if two things will happen over the next 30-days: (1) Donald Trump will correctly suggest that the country should restart its economy, doing so in stages and by industry and giving Governors encouragement to take the steps necessary to do so, and (2) Trump will continue the drum beat that puts the onus for the pandemic directly at the feet of China.

There is a third thing that is absolutely, positively, unequivocally guaranteed to happen. For example, this morning's New York Times headline: "He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus" is typical. Yes, we all know that if a progressive were president he/she would have begun acting in mid-2019, before the virus even existed, because ... woke people have special powers!

As the country begins to do an economic restart, the Democrats and their trained hamsters in the media will: (a) continue their despicable and transparent strategy to hang COVID-19 cases and deaths around Donald Trump's neck, particularly after he suggests that the economy should be restarted before economic catastrophic dislocation occurs (as if 16 million people out of work in 3 weeks isn't catastrophic enough) and (b) work to deflect any blame that might be directed at China.

As this happens, it's worth noting the following, not Trump's often boorish words, but rather the litany of correct judgements he has made concerning China and matters that ultimately relate to the virus. Andrew Klaven reports:

Trump was right about China. Right that its behavior was unprincipled and dangerous. Right that our trade imbalance with them represented a power imbalance that they could abuse. He was right about China when the Democrats and their press were distracting the country’s attention with trivial Russian trolling. And he was right to engage them even though the Wall Street Journal types screamed like a girl in a horror movie over how his “trade war” might affect their portfolios ...

He was right that borders must be secured when blithering leftists were ready to virtue signal the west to death and high-minded right wingers like myself were shrugging off a slow-motion invasion, trusting to some imagined protective magic in our creed.

He was also right that the American news media has become corrupt and fake and needs to be regularly savaged until they are shamed into reforming and playing fair with the public. The Left, of course, loves it this way, though it destroys any chance of American dialogue. The Right underplayed the problem and was resigned to long-term death-by-culture.

The current pandemic has only underscored how very right Trump was: it was unleashed by China, exacerbated by globalism and weak borders, and has been endlessly darkened by the lies of a Republican-hating press.

But ... but ... but ..., progressives tell us ad nauseum that Trump failed to act fast enough ... and that puts all of this on him. Klaven continues:

The idea that Trump ignored warnings or that Trump reacted late or that Trump over-reacted and carelessly destroyed our economy: these are all the whiny assertions of irresponsible children.

We are always being warned about everything. Pandemics, pulse bombs, earthquakes. We have business to take care of. We prepare where we can. Trump reacted quickly given the misinformation we were getting from China and WHO. He stopped travel from China when Joe Biden and the rest of the Left called him names for it. [He stopped travel from Europe and was roundly criticized by Democrats, but now we find that it was European travelers who were the vectors for the virus in New York City.] Even the governors who hate him admit he has responded to their calls.

But irresponsible angry children must throw their tantrums—it's the only way they know how to respond. And the adults in the room must ignore their bleating and do what has to be done.