Alice in Covidland

As the thought-leader for Team Apocvalypse, Anthony Fauci, MD will have substantial influence among Joe Biden's followers. The trained hamsters in the main stream media treat him as Saint Fauci—a man who now tells us that even with an effective vaccine, insane catastrophist policies (a.k.a. "covidiocy") must remain in place throughout most of 2021.

Blue state governors, card carrying members of Team Apocalypse all, applaud Fauci's epistles, establishing policies that are as ineffective as they are unconstitutional. They cite Fauci when they tell us that they are "following the science" even as they implement policies (e.g., wearing masks outdoors or shuttering outdoor restaurants or closing schools) that have no basis whatsoever in science and virtually no support in any statistical analysis of the voluminous COVID-19 data collected over the past 10 months.

John Hinderacker comments on one of the the many Democrat governors who is representative of the cadre of "petty dictators" that appear to be doing everything possible to destroy lives and livelihoods under the guise of "keeping us safe" and "stopping the spread."

Every time I think that Minnesota’s Tim Walz must be the dumbest governor in America, I remind myself of two words: Gretchen Whitmer. Still, Walz is definitely a contender. Today he announced his most recent turning of the “dials” of his subjects’ lives. Gyms will reopen on a very limited basis, .... Bars and restaurants are to remain shut down indefinitely for indoor dining, but they can have outdoor dining on a very limited basis ....

I have four kids, all of whom will be in town for Christmas. Under Walz’s shutdown order, we can only host one of the four for Christmas dinner, indoors. And, of course, we have to stay six feet away from each other, so I suppose that means separate tables. If we are willing to have Christmas dinner outdoors, we can host two of our four children, again, apparently, at three separate tables. The other two will have to drive through McDonalds, I guess.

To understand how insane Governor Walz’s order is, you might need to live in Minnesota. The forecast for December 24, Christmas Eve, shows a high of 10 degrees and a low of 3 degrees. That is Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Christmas Day will be balmy, with a high of 22 and a low of 10, with a chance of snow.

The idea that anyone will have dinner on Christmas or Christmas Eve outdoors under these conditions is a sick joke–a sick joke that is perpetrated by the governor of the State of Minnesota, who glories in his ability to perpetrate such absurdities. Likewise, the idea that it is viable for restaurants to stay in business via outdoor service in Minnesota in December and January is ridiculous.

What we are seeing in Minnesota, and elsewhere around the country, is not a sane approach to public policy, but rather the manifestation of a proto-fascist urge to exercise total control over everyone’s life. In this regard, Tim Walz is certainly among the worst, but he is not alone. The sad reality is that millions of Americans have happily dispensed with just about every known freedom–you can’t leave your house without government permission!–in hopes of avoiding a respiratory virus that is dangerous to the elderly whose health is already severely compromised, but not noticed by most under the age of 70 who contract it. Home of the brave, indeed.

The very last sentence might be the most important. What on earth has happened to us? Team Apocalypse has frightened far too many Americans to the extent that they gladly accept this idiocy. Using death scoreboards and "case" counts, collective hysteria has been cultivated by a dishonest and corrupt media and abetted by a majority of Democrat politicians. As a consequence, those of us who reject their flailing attempts at "stopping the spread" (ask yourself: have they worked even in those places that have implemented draconian lockdowns [see Update-2]) are viewed by catastrophists as "uncaring" or "anti-science." It truly is an Alice in Covidland world, carefully cultivated by the Anthony Faucis of the establishment who never saw personal freedoms they didn't want to destroy (in the name of public health policy, of course).

At least some Americans have begun to push back. Hinderacker comments:

Happily, some are now fighting back. Here in Minnesota, quite a few restaurants and bars defied the “law”–i.e., what I think is an arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional one-man edict by our governor–and opened their doors for business today. It remains to be seen how many will follow. The brave restaurant owners who led the way, like Larvita McFarquhar, are now being threatened with jail time. The proto-fascists will do anything to retain control over the most intimate details of your life.

The time has come to rebel. If a medium-strength respiratory virus can rob us of every known freedom, the republic is doomed. Let’s not let it happen.

Finally, I should add that neither I nor any member of my family has any intention of complying with Dim Tim Walz’s “emergency” order. Christmas dinner is our business, not his. In a totalitarian state, of course, everything is the government’s business. But we are not there yet. Not quite.

But petty dictators like Tim Walz and Gretchen Witmer, Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom smile, because help is on the way. Upon taking office, Joe BIden will tell us that their "proto-fascist" policies should be kept in place for "just 100 days." Masking and lockdowns—that'll do the trick—even though they haven't done the trick for the past 10 months.

100 days is politically convenient because after those 100 days, tens of millions of Americans will have been vaccinated including just about everyone over 70 and in nursing homes (where up to half of all deaths occur). Spring will break, causing a decrease in "cases." The Dems' trained hamsters in the media will credit Joe's 100-day plan with saving us all. "Empathy" and "caring"—not actual science—that's what public health policy is all about.

Yep, Alice in Covidland.

UPDATE-1:

My home state of FL has been among the more open and free states during the COVID era. People are out and about, schools are open to children who want to attend, beaches and parks are open and full, there are no outdoor mask mandates, stores are open, as are gyms and restaurants. The state government has made a commitment that another lockdown will not happen, giving businesses some degree of stability. Under the solid governance of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis (much maligned by the media for refusing to lockdown the state), FL has not adopted Alice in Covidland policies that are anti-science and ruin the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.

To compare, New York, under the "proto-fascist" policies of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has locked down much of the state, yet again, closed schools, outdoor restaurants, and gyms, and otherwise abridged the freedoms of it citizens. Yet, FL—which has a larger population than NY with significantly more senior citizens—has had significantly fewer deaths.

Christopher Bedford reports:

Thus far in Florida, approximately 20,000 people have died of COVID-19. In Texas, the number stands around 24,000, and in New York, about 35,000.

New York is the smallest of the three, with 19.54 million residents. Then comes Florida, with 21.67 million, before Texas, with 28.7 million residents.

COVID numbers are difficult to trust. Cases are often counted more than once as patients go in and out of the hospital, and some deaths are attributed to COVID that are barely related, if at all.

There’s a perverse incentive to write down “COVID” and get state and federal money, no doubt, but one thing rings clear through all the din: Despite larger populations, currently freer peoples, and a media narrative that screams otherwise, there are far, far fewer deaths in Texas and in Florida than in New York.

For months, American media consumers have been treated to news of Florida and Texas’s incoming death spirals. For months after, we were promised those death spirals were just around the bend. The funny thing with COVID, though, is unlike global warming doom science — always 3-12 years away and “too complex” to explain when it inevitably doesn’t happen — COVID doom predictions are checkable in just a few weeks. And COVID doom didn’t happen.

You'd think that after being consistently wrong over a the past 10 months, the media and its establishment experts (think: Dr. Fauci) would have the humility to just shut up. Even better, that they'd become introspective and try honesty when they talk about the threat and the risks associated with COVID-19. You'd be wrong, but then again, WRONG is the persistent state in Covidland.

An aside: 

Bedford writes:

In America today, left-wing politicians obsessed with control are crushing the lives and dreams of their citizens while in the same country just across state lines, young and old celebrate Christmas like we used to without any notable difference in risk and impact. How long can this continue before we all figure it out?

Many of us already have, but there are also many, maybe more, who have been propagandized and terrorized by Team Apocalypse. They have allowed "proto-fascist" politicians to crush their ability to think for themselves and take responsibility for their actions. Pathetic.

UPDATE-2:

On Twitter, Matt Strauss, MD notes that the State of North Dakota had the courage to eschew lockdowns and mask mandates until November 13th, when rising "cases" and deaths caused the governor to succumb to political pressure and institute both. The graph that follows indicates the ND case count in blue.

Wow, immediately after following Team Apocalypse's recommendations, "cases" dropped like a rock. That's "following the science," right? Masks and lockdowns work!!!

Uh ... wait. The graph in red represents the results for the State of South Dakota where no mask mandates or lockdowns were ever instituted. The states of ND and SD are geographically proximate, have similar climates, the same population demographics and size. The results are near-identical.

Hmmm. Looks like the virus is gonna virus, regardless of the level of covidiocy brought to bear by politicians and their Team Apocalypse cheerleaders.

UPDATE-3:

Because Covidiocy reigns in Covidland, the trained hamsters in the mainstream media, who invariably do the bidding of their Democrat masters, never ask why it is that draconian lockdowns and ridiculous mask mandates have virtually no effect on COVID-19 cases or deaths (e.g., see Update-2). 

Ground zero for Covidiocy (along with lots of other leftist insanity) is CA. CA's Governor, Gavin Newsom, has gone beyond being a petty dictator and has now moved into the big leagues.

John Miltimore writes:

Newsom’s order closing outdoor playgrounds—a response many see as senseless and ineffective, which prompted the governor to rescind it—is just one example of the hardline approach California public officials have taken in their attempt to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

Other restrictions include a 10 p.m. curfew, bans on outdoor dining and religious gatherings, as well as school closures. Surveys in recent months have shown California’s restrictions are some of the strictest in the US.

Sadly, but perhaps predictably, the regulations do not appear to be working. State data show California is smashing its previous highs in both COVID-19 cases and deaths.

“California broke its statewide records for both coronavirus cases reported and deaths reported in a single day on Wednesday,” The Hill reports. “The state reported 51,724 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 42,088 cases, which was just set on Monday, according to a Los Angeles Times tally.”

This is a classic 'emperor's new clothes' situation. You'd think some junior reporter might stand up at a Newsom news conference and say, 

"This isn't working? At all. Why are you doing this when it isn't working? At all. Why are you hurting people and forcing them into poverty? Why are you ruining businesses? How can you justify any of this when it isn't working? At all."

Won't happen. Because ... Alice in Covidland.

UPDATE-4:

The house propaganda sheet for Team Apocalypse is The New York Times. This morning, some  NYT staffer was too stupid or insufficiently woke to notice the contradiction in this headline (advertised in their Twitter feed):

Recognizing that some reader might begin asking actual questions, the NYT quickly changed the headline to:

As California I.C.U.s fill up, the dead are counted by the hour.

Perfect! Sufficiently misleading and terrorizing—all in one. Covidiocy propaganda at its best.