Joe's Masks—Part II

The centerpiece of the Democrat presidential campaign was to imply that Donald Trump somehow dropped the COVID-19 ball by failing to adequately plan and/or manage the national response to the virus. That's nonsense, but it was effective, at least among the fantasy thinkers who populate much of the Democratic party and plenty of independents who the media scared to death vis-a-vis COVID-19.

Joe Biden has won the election (provisionally). So now he must demonstrate that: (1) he has a superior plan to "defeat the virus," (2) his plan includes steps not taken by the outgoing administration, and (3) he cares, really, really cares, about all of us. The problem for Biden's "virus task force," is that deep down they all understand the science (a cognitively impaired Biden most certainly does not). What that means is that they realize that most of what Trump's people did was on target, reasonably well-organized, and appropriate. The only thing the task force has left is to continue the Trump plan (renamed, of course!) and announce meaningless gestures that will do little if anything to actually stop the spread, but which Biden's trained hamsters in the media can sell as a major advance in the handling of COVID-19. 

Enter Biden's mask mandate—the ultimate in meaningless gestures.

Pandemic viruses are an act of nature. They spread according to known statistical models, and have been enormously difficult to stop.

Suggesting that masks can stop the spread of a virus is like arguing that sandbags can stop a tsunami. 

Both might give the uninformed or hysterical a feeling of security, but neither will provide real safety.

The Wall Street Journal presents a critique of yet another flawed IMHE study, that suggests that masks can save over 100,000 lives through 2021. The study is deeply flawed, using obsolete data and poor assumptions to make its case. Yet, it has been widely referenced by the media without analysis or critique. The intent is to provide cover for Biden as he demands that masks be worn everywhere.

In reality, the virus is gonna virus, and there's relatively little we can do to stop it.  With the exception of highly destructive lockdowns that have done more harm than good, the only effective way to stop the spread is to wait until the virus burns itself out as it passes through the population or until an effective vaccine is available. That's the real science, but the catastrophists among us refuse to accept it. 

UPDATE-1:

And now for comic relief, the nation's chief catastrophist, charter member of Team Apocalypse, and one of the few people who refused to consider the unintended consequences of a national lockdown, the sainted Dr. Anthony Fauci, has declared contemporaneously with Joe Biden's ascendancy to the White House that ... get ready ...

"Certainly it’s not going to be a pandemic for a lot longer because I believe the vaccines are going to turn that around."

That's amazing. Joe is provisional president-elect for a little more than a week and he's conquered the virus. Given that the vaccines were developed in record time under the Trump administration's program, Operation Warp Speed, Fauci probably could have made this statement a month ago, but at that time (in the middle of the election run) he was saying (incorrectly, I might add) that there would be no vaccine until mid 2021. Hmmm.

Had Donald Trump been re-elected, the virus, I am sure, would have remained "virulent, deadly and uncontained"—indefinitely. Any vaccine would have been "unproven, potentially dangerous, and rushed to market with little concern for safety."

But now, with Joe at the helm, the Dem's trained hamsters in the media will trumpet "it’s not going to be a pandemic for a lot longer." In a way, at least, that's a silver lining for Joe's (provisional) win. I just wonder how ol' Joe is going to pull off an obligatory mask mandate and at the same time have his media flunkies tell us that everything is getting better. I've got it ... it's not the vaccine, it's the masks. Joe has saved us all!

UPDATE-2:

It's far too early to characterize Biden's advisors as a Team of 2s, but it sure looks like that's the direction he's heading. The Wall Street Journal writes:

Did you enjoy the days at home from mid-March to May? The 22 million lost jobs, the shuttered storefronts, the neighborhood shops out of business, the kids unable to attend school, and the near economic depression? Well, congratulations, a reprise may be coming your way if Joe Biden heeds his Covid-19 advisory team.

We’ve told you about Ezekiel Emanuel, the advisory committee member who wanted new lockdowns during the summer flare-up in the Sunbelt states. Lucky for the country that his only power then was appearing on MSNBC.

Then there’s Michael Osterholm, also a member of the Biden Covid committee, who now wants a new nationwide lockdown for as many as six weeks. Dr. Osterholm is director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. CNBC quoted him as suggesting that we are about to enter “Covid hell” and the government should lock everyone up as we await a vaccine.

Hopefully, cooler, more pragmatic heads will prevail, but it's possible that in addition to a meaningless mask mandate, Joe might opt for another lockdown, let the catastrophic economic consequences (not be mention the awful health and educational consequences) be damned. After all, Joe spent the majority of 2020 in his basement. He might think that there's no reason you shouldn't do the same thing as well.

UPDATE-3

And for those catastrophists who will exclaim, But ... but ... but ... "cases" are up ... way up! There's this little factoid: Cases may be up, but deaths are down ... way down. In fact, in IL, a place where "cases" are way up, a person has a higher probability of being killed by a gunshot that they have of dying from COVID-19. Just sayin'.