PANDEMIC AND DEM PANIC

1. “It’s going to be interesting to see how many of those end up with appointments to plush government jobs…”

   That’s an old American tradition. Lincoln’s managers got Pennsylvania’s votes at the 1860 RNC by all-but-promising a Cabinet seat for Simon Cameron. (Cameron became Secretary of War.) Lincoln also gave Cabinet posts to his rivals Seward and Chase.

   It’s explicitly how parliamentary politics works – the PM names other party leaders to ministries. In coalitions, the lead party trades ministries (a share of power) for support in “forming a government”.

2. Mas – As usual, you are “on target” with this post. In my almost 60 years, I don’t believe that I have ever seen anything like the mass-hysteria going on (Worldwide) today.

   Way back in 1841, an author by the name of Charles MacKay wrote a series of books entitled “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds”. It is still in-print today and available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle formats. As the current madness illustrates, Mr. MacKay’s book has not been outdated and is still (fully) applicable to modern times. In fact, this current pandemic craze could easily qualify as a whole new chapter if MacKay was still alive and writing on the topic.

   Let me offer a couple of quotes from MacKay’s book:

   “In reading the history of nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities; their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one subject, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first.”

   and, especially, this one:

   “Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”

   Mr. Mackay’s work comprised three (3) volumes. I figure that, since 1841, mankind has generated enough new material to make at least 3 or 4 additional volumes. Since President Trump’s election in 2016, the Democrats and their Media lapdogs (with their various TDS follies) have generated enough for a multi-chapter volume on their own!

   The times may change but the folly of mankind remains an eternal constant. It is as immutable as “Death and Taxes”.

   • The book is out of copyright and available at Gutenberg in various browser, e-reader, and phone-friendly formats.

     http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518

3. You were absolutely right! Sleepy Joe gets a pass for his fondling of women, abusing the African-American vote as a steppingstone, and influence peddling to benefit his family and friends. He is the embodiment of the Democrat party, there’s stunning failure over the many years as evident with the city of Detroit, and Chicago just for starters. there miss guided and twisted view of the Constitution of the United States of America emboldens them to kick it to the curb all in pursuit of the real goal of power over people. That is not the American way.

4. “May you live in interesting times.”–Chinese curse.

   I saw a news report that Bernie voters will not back Biden. I’m afraid to hope that is true because I am afraid to be disappointed. Democrats are usually good at sticking together.

   Because of Demographics, the Republican party is in real trouble. Millennials are now a larger group than Boomers. With immigration, Trump will probably be the last Republican to ever win the White House. Hasn’t Texas turned purple?

   I find it fascinating that the USA has had a shortage of toilet paper for a few days, while Venezuela has had a shortage of food for a few years. Imagine the behavior of Americans in a food shortage.

   I’m sure the Wuhan Flu will soon go away, but could it be the pin which pricks our economic bubbles, as Peter Schiff has said?

   Glenn Beck convinced me to become a Doomsday Prepper in April 2010. Whew! Thanks, Glenn!

   • It isn’t just the US. Nor were we the first from what I have heard. Just one report …

     https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-toiletpaper-idUSKBN20T0YG

5. There is a lot of growing “pandemic panic” brewing in my region (the Pacific Northwest), but it doesn’t seem to have any political affiliation. Instead, the truly frightened appear to be metropolitan people who never gave a thought to setting aside a small cache of food and essential supplies in case of an unexpected emergency.

   As far as the remaining two Democratic presidential candidates, Biden and Sanders, it’s rather clear that the Democratic establishment is scared “excretionless” by Sanders, whom they rightly fear will heavily tax and regulate big corporations and rich people. In my view, the social programs Sanders is promoting are merely a continuation of Franklin Roosevelt’s and Lyndon Johnson’s, which the vast majority of Americans need and are hardly extreme socialism.

   Biden, apparently, appeals to older Democratic voters (of all races) who desire a return to political stability, that is, a time when presidents (from either political party) came into office with considerable governing experience, generally told the truth, and whose lives weren’t tainted with decades of outrageous personal scandals and incompetence like the current occupant of the White House.

   It’s not clear to me whether today’s Americans are up to dealing with the myriad crises the country is facing right now. Many years of “divide and conquer” tactics inflicted by greedy, unpatriotic pols, billionaires and corporations have taken their toll. The result, I think, are single-issue proponents (the Me, Too Movement; Unrestricted Second Amendment advocates; Black Lives Matter; anti-abortion groups; neo-Nazis, etc.) who constantly fight among themselves. Wealthy folk love this scenario because the hoi polloi are not focusing on their egregious misbehavior.

   • @ Spencer – “In my view, the social programs Sanders is promoting are merely a continuation of Franklin Roosevelt’s and Lyndon Johnson’s, which the vast majority of Americans need and are hardly extreme socialism.”

     It is impossible to overstate how profoundly I disagree with your worldview as expressed above. Both FDR and LBJ were probably the most left-wing of U.S. Presidents in the 20th Century. As such, their only thoughts were to grow the strength and power of the Federal Government at the expense of the power of the American People. FDR’s “New Deal” programs were nothing more than a power-grab by left-wing politicians and government bureaucrats to grow the Federal Government so as to increase their own power and job security.

     LBJ “Great Society” Programs were nothing more or less than “Version 2.0” of the same thing. The Left-Wing ideology, that drove both the “New Deal” and “The Great Society”, is the standard one that says that the individual is too incompetent to run his own life and, therefore, needs “Big Brother” Government to run his life for him or her. Socialism is just another flavor of the same concept.

     In ancient Rome, it was “Bread and Circuses”. The modern left follows the same playbook except that it is now called “Social Safety Net and Crisis Management”. “Buy votes with the public treasury” and “never let a good crisis go to waste” are the guiding lights of modern left-wing politics and the Democrat Party. Both Biden and Sanders are pushing different sides of this same coin. Sanders is simply a bit more honest about it in that he admits that it is Socialism that he is pushing. Biden, and most other left-wing politicians, go to great lengths to hide that fact.

     Both FDR and LBJ did great harm to America. This is not to discount some good that they did too. Especially FDR who helped end Alcohol Prohibition and who did some good in addressing the negative effects of the Great Depression. However. as Shakespeare noted (in Julius Caesar), “The Evil that Men do lives after them; the Good is oft interred with their Bones”. So it is with both FDR and LBJ. The Evil created by their New Deal and Great Society Programs is still living and hurting America today. The Good that they accomplished is long dead and buried.

     If either Biden or Sanders win the Presidency, it will be another “Black Day” in American History. It will mean a return to the weary and failed policies spawned by Left-Wing Ideology. An Ideology that is one of the most destructive and dangerous political concepts ever created by the mind of mankind.

     I can only hope that the American People are wise enough to REJECT that path to FAILURE and RUIN. Unfortunately, with illegal aliens flooding our borders and being allowed to vote, illegally, in many places and with so many other people (especially young and naive adults) being influenced by the Left’s Hollywood/Education/Media mix of indoctrination and propaganda, it is all too possible that people will follow the path of folly rather than the path of wisdom. May God help us to choose wisely this November and to re-elect Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America!

     • “TN_MAN: “Both FDR and LBJ did great harm to America.”

       Without those presidents, it seems unlikely that Americans would have had (in no particular order): Social Security, the minimum wage, the National Recovery Act for collective bargaining, Medicare and Medicaid, the GI Bill, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, water and clean air acts, among many other programs that helped (and most still do) the vast majority of citizens.

     • Without those presidents, Americans unlikely would have had a Ponzi scheme named Social Security forced upon them. A scheme that is becoming increasingly unstable financially and which will soon go heavily into the red. Americans would probably also have not been subjected to a vast host of intrusive programs that have grown the Federal debt to over 23 trillion dollars, that have grown Federal spending to the point where it is 38% of GDP and which have grown the Federal workforce to over 2 million civilian employees which, if one adds in military personnel and postal employees, is over 4 million in total. Programs that have steadily taken control away from the American People and given it to Federal bureaucrats. All of which has eroded the very fabric of American society and help create the culture of victim-hood, disunity and immorality prevalent today. All of which has done great harm to America.

       There you go, Spencer. I fixed your post (above) for you! 🙂

       P.S. – Spencer, better face the facts. I am not a leftist, like you, and I will never, never, never, never, never, never, ever believe in your left-wing ideology. You are wasting your efforts in trying to convert me to Socialism and/or modern left-wing identity politics and (I know) I am wasting mine in trying to divorce you from left-wing ideology. Your internal “Trust Setting” has been set abnormally high which means that the left-wing ideology appeals to you on the most basic, subconscious level. The higher logic of reason, which I offer, will never overcome the bias built into the subconscious mind.

       So, maybe we had just better “agree to disagree” here. Just try to understand that your left-wing worldview is, despite intensive indoctrination and the massive use of propaganda, a minority view (of humanity) and try to realize that other worldviews exist beyond the narrow one of the left.

   • If you really think Bernie’s social reforms will benefit most of us in this nation, I’d suggest spending some time reviewing the history of communist regimes. Bernie would destroy our economy. Biden is anything but a general truth-teller.

     As far as single-issue voters, the Second Amendment is one of, if not the, most important issues of our time as it speaks directly to the other freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Right and is the only protection against government tyranny and overreach.

   • I’m afraid I disagree that the Democratic establishment was afraid that Sanders would heavily tax and regulate big corporations and rich people. I think they were afraid he was going to be another George McGovern.

6. Any male (candidate, President, or other) who touches another person in an unwelcome way should promptly be kneed in the groin.

   • preferebly by the female thus boing violated. This is a skill that should be taught to one’s daughters. If they are old enough to also be armed with hardware, and the knee to the offender’s groin brings further offense, said hardware ought be deployed against the sofrware of the offender.
     Let this happen a few times, and perhaps things will change. Such response being caught on live national TeeVee would just be frosting on the cake.

     My Mom spent her teen years in a pretty rough andtumble Navy town. Her big brother (82nd Airborne) taught her the skills to deal with feisty sailors. She never had to but was more at ease knowing she COULD if needed.

7. Don’t agree with on this post. Focusing on Democrats instead total incompetence of those in power that will cause thousands, maybe millions of death here, We’ve learned nothing from Italy where people are dying like flies in triage centers. Uncle Tomo, he’s had a good life, let him die so we can save little Sophia. What part about an exponential function’ don’t people understand? We’re only weeks or months away from semi-destruction of the U.S. You’ve dropped the ball with this post, Mas, and I’ve been following you for decades,

   • Steve, have you studied the real situation in Italy? There are some “interesting” factoids concerning the dmeographics of those affected, and dying in large numbers. Seems that group, the ones sucumbing to the disease, are mostly refugees and assyless from North Africa and the Middle East. Tuberculosis and pneumonia are rampant amongst them, they live in squalour all but unknown except amongst the homeless along the West Coast of the US.. rotten diet, sub-third world sanittion, crowding, extreme high rates of chains moeking tobacco and other substnces, etc.

     In many ways the demographics and “lifestyle” circumstances of those in Italy are very close to the affected population in Wuhan China.
     It is amongst the members of such populations the rempant spread of this disease, and high deth rates, are observed. This is decidely OTHER than what we see in North Amierica, with the notable (and very scary_ exception of the tens of thousands in the homeless camps along thw West Coast,

     We generally don’t count the high gun-homicide rates in olaces lie Chicago ,Baltimore, etc, do we? Those are “outliers”, and not reflective of the rest of the country.. where some fifty percent of all counties OUTSIDE those areas have NO murders on average, each year, and half the rest have a tiny perdcentage ot the total.

     Outliers can be set aside as not relevant to the general situation. It is the Dem Panic dweebs using such statistics falsely that have wrought the astounding level of fear that is running amok nationwide. Taking the states from Wuhan and/or Italy and/or Iran is NOT indicative of how things will play out at large across his country. Promoting that lie is whythere ai’t to TeePee on the shelves anywhere. Not even on Amazon.

8. When Uncle Joseph Biden-Stalin, lovingly called “BS” by his inner circle of sycophants, recently shouted, “Do you need 100 rounds?” at the helmeted, union construction worker at an automotive plant in Michigan, the construction worker could have replied, while smiling:

   “Well, Mr. Vice President, I have a solid supply of ammunition that I store for contingencies, but more is always better in capitalist America. So, I really appreciate your asking me what I need and then stepping up selflessly to give me 100 additional rounds that I do need. Are you carrying these 100 rounds loose in your pockets, or will I need to obtain them from members of your heavily armed protective detail? Sir, you just made my day! Wow! Free 223 from a Democrat VP! President Obama would be so darn proud of you.”

   Remember the word track of the fictional conversational exchange above the next time an angered, overstressed, smug, uninformed leftist progressive who favors banning guns, magazines and ammunition asks you:

   “Why would you need a (insert number between 11 and 100) round magazine?” or “Why would anyone need (insert number between 11 and 100) rounds?”

   You could also reply:

   “It is so kind and thoughtful of you to ask. Actually, I should not be surprised, since Democrats and progressives always reach out to Americans in need.

   Not wanting to appear greedy, I will gratefully and humbly accept the (insert number) rounds and magazines that you are offering as charity to me, a gun owner in need.

   Are you carrying these (insert number) rounds and magazines loose in your pockets, or in your backpack or briefcase? I will be glad to help you transfer them discreetly to my possession. Neither paperwork nor public notice will be necessary, just as Jesus Christ would want such a charitable donation to occur. Go in peace.

   By the way, as a final thought, you Democrats and progressives should distribute tens of millions of bumper stickers, one reading: VOTE 223 in 2020 and the other reading VOTE 308 in 2020.”

   • Yes, Old “Shotgun Joe” Biden seemed to think that 100 rounds was a lot of ammo. I guess for a guy who thinks we need to be restricted to double-barreled shotguns and that nobody ever needs to fire off more than two rounds at a time (into the sky off the back porch 🙂 ), it might seem like a lot.

     However, in my world, 100 rounds is nothing. I went to the range last Friday and fired off 142 rounds of mixed pistol and rifle ammo in an hour and a half. That was just a short, practice session for me.

     These gun-grabbing Democrats don’t even live in the same universe as dedicated firearm-owners and shooters. Yet, they think they are fully qualified to advise us about our firearm needs and wants when they (literally) don’t know the first thing about the subject.

     It is bad enough to be ignorant on a subject. Even worse is to be ignorant about the depths of your ignorance!

   • or 7.62 and 5.56

     Both work just fine.

   • Curtis,

     We need guns (and ammo) in order to protect ourselves from tyrants who want to take away our guns.

     In April 1775 they came for the muskets and black powder. Today they want our Stoner rifles. Only technology changes, not human nature.

9. This is a great post.
   But the operative syllable remains “bye” as in, “bye bye thought processes,” which makes the whole thing even more weird.

   As for this “kung-flu, as you so amusingly put it, the media could either calm fears or incite them. They, along with the leftwing social-demokrats, have chosen to inflame the fear as much as possible.
   Excuse me, the sky is falling.
   It’s a good day for ammunition use though, as our neighbors are making known. Must be a lot more affluent neighborhood than we thought.

10. Rahm Emanuel may not have been the first to say, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”, and the media has certainly adopted the theme as its guiding strategy. Panic and chaos are sown without regard to consequences. Finding current statistics on those who have recovered completely is not nearly as easy as finding (the relatively low) mortality rates. Fortunately, the media merely has to blame President Trump for whatever might-have-been that would have better shielded us from harm. Otherwise, it would have to get off its collective ass, reconsider the job of true journalism and then do it.

    • I wonder if “A Journal of the Plague Year” will now replace “Robinson Crusoe” as Daniel DeFoe’s best-selling book?

      Heck, anything is possible with the panic over the “Kung Flu” running wild! 🙂

11. This appeared at another forum I’m active on. It makes the first time I’ve seen anything on a rush at gun stores. As opposed to people stocking up on food and disinfecting supplies.

    “Think lines are long and shelves empty at grocery stores? Check out a
    gun store. I’ve been considering a new revolver, and called around for
    inventory at local places. Last Friday (March 6) I was the only person
    at the gun counter at one of the four Cabela’s in Ohio.

    This past Friday, (March 13), I waited almost an hour just to get my
    turn at the gun counter at one of Ohio’s large family owned hunting
    supply stores. NICS was so backed up from nationwide background checks
    that it took an hour to get approved. Then 8-12 people deep at the check
    out counter. Just over three hours from walking in to walking out.

    Handgun and shotgun ammunition shelves were nearly empty. AR clones and
    autoloader pistols were being sold by the piles. The very overworked and
    polite lady waiting on me said it was slower at that time. Earlier there
    were 50 people per open register. And this was during the day, while
    people were supposedly at work. I can’t imagine what it would have been
    like on Saturday!

    I just went on a whim, because I had a hankering for a new toy and drove
    an hour, so I stuck it out. But I was far from the norm. These people
    were mostly in panic mode, spending thousands like they planned on
    protecting their toilet paper with lethal force.”

    • I heard that! I was just budgeting to obtain AR pistol lowers, and all of a sudden there was a run on them here locally. Good thing I already have plenty of ammo & mags!

      With thieves and opportunists lurking, it is a good idea to get insurance on all things related to firearms! I just did, for the equivalent of what a Renter’s Insurance Policy might go for. Covers edged weapons, scopes & other mountable optics, slings, holsters, and AMMO. A real plus about it is they actually identify ‘theft’ as with either visible forced or non-forced entry, tornadoes,etc. I will sleep a little better now.

12. Did I miss the announcement of Tulsi Gabbard dropping out?

    • Hear, hear. The media is almost completely disregarding her.

    • Maybe kindly old ‘Uncle Joe’ Biden can give Gabbard a nice bear hug and big wet kiss to comfort her, or even a relaxing massage 😉 Bill Clinton will volunteer to help also and Bernie can get in on the action too and fulfill his kinky 3 on 1 rape fantasies. Pass them little blue pills!

13. Maybe we can tell our version of the Russian’s beloved “Uncle Joe” that the Chinese have a few more million dollars to give him and Hunter, but they would have to go to Wuhan, China to pick it up. And tell comrade Bernie the Chinese want to give him their highest honor, the Communist Peace Prize if he would travel to Wuhan to accept it. Also, no Haz-Mat suits are allowed as it’s very impolite to wear one at official functions. That may solve our presidential candidate problem, but then Hillary would start campaigning. Rats!

14. I think John C. Dvorak has the best description of the media:

    “Mainstream media is a billion
    dollar business that is created and
    operated as a conduit to sell
    products, not to inform you. The
    advertisers and corporations call
    the shots. Everything else is
    window dressing. You may as well
    get your news from a Macy’s clerk.”

    Keeping this in mind, there is no surprise on this end of the keyboard about
    the media induced panic on any topic.

15. It probably won’t do any good, but nevertheless I’ll try to refute some wild misconceptions stated above.

    Social Security (enacted during the FDR administration) is not a Ponzi Scheme; it is a bare minimum “social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors’ benefits” that most of us fund by paying taxes. Literally tens of millions of decent Americans (likely some of them read this blog) owe their very survival to Social Security. Admittedly, Social Security doesn’t allow anyone to live high on the hog, but without it an untold number of Americans would starve and perish. However, it should receive a lot more funding to provide much better benefits. But to infer that Social Security is of no value at all and should be abolished is insane.

    The primary reasons America has a grotesque federal deficit are due to ridiculous defense (over-)spending on weapons systems for enemy threats that aren’t there, and by sharply cutting taxes on the super-wealthy and huge corporations. In regard to the former point, we don’t need multi-billion-dollar submarines, fighter bombers, or nuclear weapons to combat Third World terrorists who are mostly equipped with small arms and IEDs. No other nation on earth squanders money like we do on “defense” (it’s really offense) spending, yet the results are appalling for America and the rest of the world–unnecessary human suffering, environmental destruction, well-earned enmity from other countries, and a weakening of our much-vaunted national security. As for the second deficit issue, anyone who truly believes that giving sweetheart tax breaks (and in many cases no taxes at all) to extremely wealthy individuals and mega corporations has lost touch with reality. Keep in mind that most Americans, for about a couple decades after World War II, enjoyed the greatest prosperity in the nation’s history when great wealth was taxed heavily, at about 90%.

    Ideologies such a conservatism and liberalism do tend to morph over time. Not too long ago, most of my liberal friends accused me of being a conservative, albeit a moderate one. Yet today in America, many conservatives have shifted so far to the right that to them a moderate conservative is considered a lefty. Still, I consider myself to be apolitical and analyze and interpret issues on an individual basis. Because of that thinking, my friends and acquaintances on all points of the political spectrum are often disappointed with me because I don’t subscribe to their rigid, cast-in-stone worldviews.

    • Spencer – “It probably won’t do any good…”

      I agree. Probably not. Investopedia defines a Ponzi scheme as:

      “A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for early investors by acquiring new investors. This is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based on using new investors’ funds to pay the earlier backers.

      Both Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes eventually bottom out when the flood of new investors dries up and there isn’t enough money to go around. At that point, the schemes unravel.”

      Whether one considers Social Security a Ponzi scheme depends upon one’s point-of-view. As in the above definition, Social Security provided its greatest returns for the people who drew their money early. Their payments were funding by new participants in the program just exactly as happens with a Ponzi scheme. As noted in my previous comment, Social Security is on its way to unraveling because new participants are drying up and their isn’t enough money to go around. So, in many ways, Social Security fits the definition of a Ponzi scheme.

      The difference lies in the Government backing for this particular scheme. The Government FORCES worker participation in this program.

      The justification for Social Security is that people will not always save for retirement on their own. Therefore, as the left-wing mind thinks, Government must step in and do it for them. The result is a return on investment that is typically much less than an individual could have achieved with a diversified investment in stocks and bonds.

      It is too bad that Social Security was never set up to offer a choice to the people. For those people who do not want to manage their own investments, the option of a Government managed account could have been provided. For those who prefer to manage their own retirement, the option (similar to current 401K or IRA options) could have been offered. Investment could have still been required either way.

      That way, those who want to depend upon the Government could do so while those who believe that they could do better than the Government return (which just matches inflation, at best) could have that option. No choice was offered, however, and the Ponzi-like approach of taking from current workers to pay retired workers was adopted instead.

      As for Defense spending being the cause of America’s deficit, your perception is flat-out wrong. In recent years, Defense spending has been about 5% of our GDP while the overall Federal Budget is about 38% of GDP. In other words, defense spending is less than 15% of the total Federal Budget. Clearly, it is not the prime-factor in the deficit that you indicate. The lion’s share of the Federal budget comes from administrative costs, social-program spending and debt service. One could never balance the Federal budget or get the deficit under control by defense cuts alone. Deep cuts in the left-wing welfare State would be required, as well, to do the job.

      Nor can we balance the budget on the backs of the “Super Rich” either. I know that the left-wing “Robin Hood” idea of stealing from the rich to give to the poor is always popular due to the envy stoked against the rich by the Left and their media attack-dogs. However, the simple fact is that there are not enough of the super rich, to rob, to pay down the deficit. Nor would the “Super Rich” just stand around and wait for the Government to rob them. The “Super Rich” are mobile and would have their money in overseas accounts before you could say “Jack Robinson”.

      While you may consider yourself apolitical, if you:

      1) Think that FDR and LBJ were great American presidents.
      2) Believe that their New Deal and Great Society Programs greatly benefited America.
      3) Think that a 90% tax rate on the rich is a great idea.
      4) Think that defense spending is the cause of all of our budget deficit problems,
      5) and that self-proclaimed, Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders is not really all that radical in his ideas for America.

      Then, trust me, you are pretty far out in Left Field.

      • This is shifting the topic a little, but as a student of history, I’m aware that when the economy of a sitting president’s goes sideways for too long, it’s unlikely that he (and maybe someday she) will get reelected.

        Presently no one knows how long or severe the very sudden downturn in the U.S. economy (resulting from the coronavirus panic and business closures) will be, but if things don’t turn around soon that could be very bad news for our “very stable genius” president and Republicans in Congress up for reelection this November.

        Added to these economic woes is our feckless president’s mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak in America. For weeks he basically sat on his hands, failed to take appropriate steps to deal with the pandemic, and assured us that the disease was no big deal. This failing, coupled with the flat-lining economy (the Dow is almost 3000 points down as I write this; hordes of businesses are shut down for God knows how long; many workers aren’t getting any financial assistance), sounds like the kiss of death for our Orange President and his GOP rump-kissers.

      • Spencer – It is true that the condition of the US economy is a factor in presidential elections. Most of the people on the Left, and in the Democrat Party, seem to be rooting for America to fall into a recession or even a depression if only it will get rid of that “Bad Orange Man”.

        According to Milton, when Satan was kicked out of Heaven, he made the comment that “It is better to rule in Hell then to serve in Heaven”.

        Those on the Left seem to follow their Master’s line-of-thinking in these days and times. I get the distinct impression that the American Left would willingly burn America to the ground if, by doing so, it could (a) vanquish the Bad Orange Man and (b) allow them to rule over the ashes.

        It is one reason that the Left-Wing controlled Media is hyping fears over this “Kung Flu” to the moon. Anything to hurt America and, by extension, hurt the economy. I don’t call them the “Anti-American Media” without reason!

        As for this virus and panic being President Trump’s fault, well, that is also just more propaganda from the Anti-American Media. While the Left was absorbed in trying to impeach President Trump, he was already acting to implement early bans on travel from China. The fact that this epidemic is still in an early stage, here in America as compared with places like Italy, is because of the early action of his administration. The Left and their media attack dogs are eager to blame Trump for everything but, I suspect, that many Americans see through the lies and the “blame game” of the Left.

        P.S. – On our earlier topic, I am not the first person to recognize the Ponzi-nature of Social Security. See this article from Forbes for their take on it:

        https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2015/08/13/why-was-social-security-designed-like-a-ponzi-scheme/#7c66324a76c5

    • Spencer,

      At least we agree on one thing; the federal government spends too much. Our government takes in all our tax money, spends it all, then borrows one third of that total and spends all of the money it borrows, too!

      America is broke. The only reason such a wealthy country is broke is because our leaders have made bad economic decisions. The voters should correct the problem, but too many voters like handouts.

      Imagine there is a rich man who makes $600,000 a year, but he spends $800,000 a year. You could say he is smart or talented because he earns so much, but if he overspends every year, then he is an idiot!

    • The 2019 defense budget, including the VA, was about $800 billion. The deficit was $1 trillion. Social Security, funded by payroll taxes, was $1 billion. Medicare, 57% funded by payroll taxes and premiums, was &645 billion. Medicaid was $419 billion.

      Social Security’s problem is that the last generation’s retirement is funded by the current generation of workers. It works only as long as the demographics remain balanced. For several decades, there has been a steady decrease in the number of workers supporting each retiree. Had SS been set up with each generation investing in its own retirement, the system would be inherently stable no matter what the demographics.

      Medicare for All would just lump Medicare and Medicaid together. People on Medicaid don’t earn enough to contribute significantly to Medicare. Making Medicare for All self sufficient would require nearly tripling the payroll taxes and premiums now charged for Medicare alone.

16. The online ammo company that I use is completely out of 9 mm, and the $289 box of 5.56 that I used to buy is now $440, and in short supply.

    Insanity.

17. Don’t worry about “Ol’ Joe” too much: at least for the next 4 years. But I have paid attention to the easy rise of panic in this society: runs on stores, and the like.
    Another indicator of society’s mindset is the run on survival food, and need for guns and more ammo (I got mine): even the bottomless supplies at Amazon are dwindling.
    And all this over a virus that is very similar to the flu.

18. “…the two rich old white guys the Party of Diversity had narrowed it down to.”

    Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard is still over in the wings going, “WTF?”

    And Yale psychiatrist “Dr.” Bandy X. Lee, who has repeatedly declared that President Trump is mentally unfit for the Oval Office — despite having never met the man, let alone interviewed or examined him, which is a serious ethical violation — refuses to apply the same standard and remote-diagnose Biden, saying:

    “I do not diagnose without examination and do not speak about public figures in general, unless there is evidence of such profound danger to public health and well-being because of serious signs of mental instability in a public servant, that it would be a public disservice not to share the knowledge and training that I have.”

    Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up!

19. Well, darn, I thought I was going to be reading a blog on guns.

    • I think delving into Presidential candidates who want to confiscate your firearms is part and parcel of a blog on guns.

    • A MILLER,

      It may be that some gun owners don’t want to be involved in politics. TOO BAD. The last time gun owners didn’t have to worry about politics was pre-1968. Guns and politics go together. Sad, but true. If the NRA had stayed non-political, the USA’s gun laws would look like the UK’s today.

      • I feel like I remind people constantly, “You may not want to be involved with politics, but rest assured, politics absolutely wants to be involved with you.”

20. I have often said that former President Obama was one of the greatest gun-salesman in history. He might even give Samuel Colt or Bill Ruger a run for their money. It is no wonder that sales dropped, a bit, when Obama left office and President Trump took over. 🙂

    That is one area where the American Left has great proficiency. Promoting firearm and ammunition sales. Usually, they do it by freaking out over so-called Saturday Night Specials, Cop-Killer bullets, Assault Weapons, etc. and then pushing insane anti-gun proposals.

    However, the Left is versatile when it comes to generating new sales for the Firearm and Ammunition industries. As they are now proving, they can even take a health emergency and turn it into a booming business for such sales. See this news story for confirmation of this fact:

    https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-15/coronavirus-pandemic-gun-sales-surge-us-california

    When their Left-Wing controlled news media began stoking fear and panic, in an effort to damage President Trump, I wonder if they considered the unintended consequences. Consequences such as creating a run (no pun intended) on toilet paper, firearms and ammunition? Let us hope that their efforts will prove counter-productive in other ways too. It might well end up strengthening President Trump’s hand as indicated in this article:

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/03/how_coronavirus_will_strengthen_trumps_2020_campaign.html

21. The panic buying craze is in full swing. I visited my favorite local gun shop and saw a good supply of semi-auto black rifles, but was told there’s a run on 9X19mm and 5.56X45mm ammo. One guy who had called the shop earlier came in and asked for the last 500 round box of .223 Remington ammo being held for him. He gladly paid the $400 plus tax asked for it and happily walked out with his coveted prize and a big smile on his face. Later that evening I helped a friend shop online for some .223 ammo and found him a 1000 round case of Federal American Eagle for $329 which included free shipping and no sales tax. Stay calm, shop around, and make your decisions wisely. Now, if only I can find some toilet paper and hand sanitizer at reasonable prices 🙁

    • Tom, for TP, check your local “stop n’ rob”. The shelves are empty at the big stores, but no one seems to think to look for it in convenience stores. Just sayin’.

      Dunno about hand sanitizer, but the liquor store probably has some Everclear…externally kills germs, internally takes the worry out of COVID-19.

      • Thanks for the info, Mas. Actually I have more TP than I can use as my mother bought that stuff whenever it was on sale along with paper towels. She was a little girl during WWII so experienced shortages of everything and always bought more than she could use as an adult. I’m the same way with ammunition and have enough of that stuff to supply the Chinese army.

      • Don’t know about Everclear, but many transients I used to rouse and deal with recommended Mad Dog and Ripple very highly. I’m not sure if COVID-19 affects people with a constant blood alcohol level of .30.

22. I remember when Biden first ran for president in 1988…and dropped out in disgrace for plagiarizing speeches written by Robert F Kennedy. Have not been impressed in the least with him since then.

    Regarding the run on guns and ammo, that is not a bad thing in the end, although I wish it was happening under happier circumstances. Despite all the screaming by the media about how bad guns are, when the chips are down, people want them. How likely is a new first time gun buyer to spend a premium on a gun, believing it to be what will enable their survival in bad situations, and then vote for a gun grabber?

    I do not understand the run on TP. Seems a lot of people will run out of food first. Without food the TP is sort of moot point one would think.

    If this leads to a depression, things will sure get interesting, but otherwise it might have a silver lining in that a lot more people will prepare for such events in the future. The more self-reliant people out there, the better.

    • The run on TP is entirely media-driven. They reported on the situation in Australia, where the stores really were running out and didn’t have the ability to restock quickly. This created the fear of running out here.

      The problem is the unreported TP supply chain differences between Aussie and U.S.:
      – Around 40% of Australia’s TP is imported, mostly from China, and the locally-produced stuff is not great quality (I hear it’s pretty rough). Because of this, China’s quarantine and shutting down industry and exports will greatly affect Australia’s supply of decent TP.
      – Contrast with America, where 90%+ of our TP is produced domestically, and most of the rest is imported from Canada. America (and Canada) has millions of acres of timber country to feed the paper mills, so we can literally make it faster than we use it. Australia … eh, not so much.

      Because the media reported the Australian shortage but not the logistical differences that keep us well-stocked, low-information Americans were left with the impression that a similar shortage could — and would — happen here. Thus, the panic buying.

      But that’s what happens when the media only reports half the story, but leave out the parts that make it non-sensational.

      • Archer,

        Thanks for your report. I was wondering why I saw a video on YouTube of Australian women fighting over TP days, perhaps even a week, before it began to fly off the shelves here. I always assume things happen in America first, (especially CA) then the rest of the world catches on. Your explanation makes perfect sense.

        I feel like blaming American businessmen for moving our industries to China, but I’m sure they did it because our government regulations, taxes and unions strangled our businessmen, so they felt they had no better choice than to look for a territory which was more friendly to capitalism than the once great USA.

        The enemy of America really is the uninformed voter, because they keep voting the crooks back into power, for example; Ted Kennedy, Charles Schumer, both Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, Maxine Waters and on and on.

23. Maybe their strategy is to elect Biden as President with someone the really want (e.g. Sanders) as Vice-President, so that Biden will then quickly step down due to cognitive issues.

    • That is a likely plan. Only they will not pick Sanders as VP. Sanders is not a big enough “Swamp Critter” for their liking. He is too independent of the Deep State and their Corporate backers.

      They will want someone that the Deep State can control. They might also want to use a woman to please their base.

      I think that someone like Warren, Klobuchar or Stacy Abrams is more likely than “Crazy Bernie”.

    • I’d be surprised if Biden offered Sanders the VP position or if Sanders accepted it. The difference between them is too great.

24. HillBilly would be the perfect VP pick for Uncle Joe, as Bill was an ex-presidente and Hillary was a former First Female with lots of experience. Look how well Eleanor Roosevelt ran the country when FDR was too intoxicated or incapacitated from medications taken for his illnesses ;-). With the Clinton’s resources and shady connections, Uncle Joe will have a fatal accident or die from some deadly malady soon after his inauguration and they can then assume power and she may even appoint Bill to be her VP, making liberals very happy. Uncle Joe can go the way of Jeffrey Epstein, Jim McDougal, Ron Brown, Vince Foster, and many other Clinton cronies and underlings who croaked mysteriously.

    • Tom606,

      If the scenario you describe was made into a movie, it would be the mother of all horror films. Perhaps the title could be, “The Empress Hildabeast.”

      • Roger Willco:

        Hillary should have been the target of Mueller’s witch hunt as she certainly fits that description. If found guilty, it may be difficult to catch Hillary to put her in prison as she would simply escape by blasting off on her broom with an escort of flying monkeys.

Comments are closed.