Online at the Anchorage Costco/Craig Medred photo
Did you ever imagine how quickly, easily and by how much a primitive, microscope organism could change the very essence of everyday modern life?
Less than two months ago, most of us were making of 2020 what we made of 2019 and 2018 and most of the years before because that’s how humans stumble through life.
Then coronavirus Covid-19 led to what is now an estimated 2.6 billion people around the world in lockdown, put 22 million Americans out of work, and sent millions more home to figure out how to make their jobs function from a house.
Meanwhile, the global death toll grew. Many have now been touched by the almost 150,000 deaths worldwide, and many, many, many more have had their lives fundamentally altered on a day-to-day basis.
It’s sad and tragic and in some ways just plain weird.
Do you remember when you used to get up in the morning, get out of your pajamas and take a shower before turning on the computer?
And now:
- Do you remember when you last got out of your pajamas?
- Do you remember when you last washed your pajamas?
- Do you remember when car pooling was encouraged instead of discouraged?
- Do you remember when you last drove to work?
- Do you remember what you listened to on the radio on the drive?
- Do you remember the last time you went out for a drink with coworkers?
- Do you remember the last time you stopped at two beers because you had to drive home?
The once normal, daily routines that revolve around jobs that in significant part define the lives of people are now all shot to hell. But the changes only begin there.
- Do you remember when you only had to stand in line to get out of Costco?
- Do you remember when you were allowed to stand in line to get into a movie?
- Do you remember how funny Stephen Colbert was when he worked out of a studio?
- Do you remember when you could go into the supermarket without someone yelling, “Where is your damn mask?”
- Do you remember when you couldn’t go into the bank with a mask for fear someone would call the cops?
- Do you remember when clerks didn’t hide behind virus-proof glass?
- Do you remember how glass was once used to shelter food at something called a “buffet?”
- Do you remember the buffet?
- Do you remember how you used to hate going to visit hug-crazy Aunt Thelma?
- Do you even remember Aunt Thelma?
- Do you remember when neighbors approached you to talk instead of backed off to shout?
- Do you remember when it was OK to leave town?
- Do you remember when it was a bad thing to go hiking alone?
Most of all, do you remember when you weren’t wondering when the lockdown is going to end, or when the economy is going to collapse, or when the madness will be over?
Categories: Commentary
New York City, even mainstream news has reported on this. New York has decided to pull away from the CDC guidelines of reporting numbers, and has made its own rules of reporting numbers. All deaths in New York are being counted as Covid-19 Deaths most without even any Covid Test being performed. Natural, heart attacks, gunshot wound, etc.. deaths are being counted as Covid-19 death numbers. New York is up to 18,178 Covid-19 Deaths today, while other heavily populated Northeast states are staying around 1000 deaths, except for Jersey who has probably adopted New York Cities absurd numbers system.
If you have ever driven all across this country, you know just how huge population numbers are in the Northeast and else where. The District of Columbia (DC) only has 96 deaths, the whole state of Pennsylvania with Philadelphia being one of their big cities, along with their Allentown area, York, and Pittsburgh cities has only 1,100 deaths. Connecticut 1,000, Massachusetts with Boston and way more, 1560 Deaths. Maryland with its massive Baltimore and surrounding areas has a count of just 486 deaths. California with all its masses only has 1,148 deaths. Washington state with the Seattle area which includes cities such as Olympia, Spanaway, Tacoma, Puyallup, Everett, and so many other population areas has a whopping count of 624. The whole country of Canada with places such as Montreal and Toronto their count is at 1509. Have you ever been stuck in Dallas-Ft Worth, Houston, Austin traffic. The whole state of Texas is at 469 deaths. Dallas paramedics EMT said it’s so slow there it’s ridiculous.
I’m not saying that all these deaths or just one of them should ever be taken lightly, because it is someones loved one, a fellow human, however if the purpose of this count is to be factual and correct of how this virus is spreading and claiming lives than New York needs to stop padding their numbers. If New York wants to claim that the non-Covid deaths are caused by the the hospitals being so busy from the virus that they weren’t able to save them like they might normally, then keep a count of those people on a different tally sheet and address that problem later as well. From what I have heard though from people living there, is that before this virus, you had a good chance they weren’t going to get to you in time to save you then either, because of their natural backed up and busy hospitals on good days.
Agreed Zip. Democrats inflating numbers to not only hurt Trump, but to get their greedy hands all over $5 trillion dollars. Today’s Democrat is the worst of mankind.
Just a tidbit to digest: (for Steve-O)
https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/20/barr-the-fbi-is-playing-games-with-gun-background-checks/
Jason,
I always tried explaining my core values were based on conservative principles but I feel we all let the “spectacle” of life get in the way.
This current “plannedemic” has shown me that society has placed too much faith in science (myself included) …a practice that is proven wrong just as much as it is correct.
What we are seeing today is the epidemiologists were wrong from day one about this flu, yet their liberal medical cults continue to cry for more & more restrictions to our liberties as our national economy crumbles from inactivity.
I for one will think long and hard before I support any scientific statement from here on out…
“Science is nothing but perception.”
(Plato)
I’m certainly willing to take this conversion at face value, Steve. Like I said a few days ago I’m very pleased to find so much common ground with you on this crucial issue. If I’ve ever seen a time to stand together (metaphorically and literally) against tyranny it is now. Freedom from oppression needs all the allies it can get.
Jason,
I agree.
This test is far from over.
Ed Snowden did a good talk with a reporter from Vice.
He tried to point out the losses to our civil liberties and privacy will be much greater than the mortality of this new flu and have the potential to linger on way into the future.
Ed also wanted to point out that if history is our guide, these liberties that are being taken away in the face of “emergency” rarely are returned when the crisis ends.
His take away was that we are currently facing:
“The architecture of oppression” right now across the globe.
Amen!! Resit lies, resist tyranny!!!
Craig, have you or anyone else been able to sort through the statistics to determine if the total fatalities in New York are above their normal monthly averages? My Google-fu is proving inadequate. So much obfuscation surrounding the mortality/fatality rates and what actually constitutes a death attributable to Covid-19 that I don’t think that the official word can really be trusted at this point. Comparing total fatalities this last 6 weeks or so against previous totals is going to be the only way we can start sorting this out.
Jason, forget about NY. NY is run by Democrats and they are liars. So, forget their numbers..all lies..
Here is Italy’s flu rate to Covid death rates. Remember now, Italy has the highest death rates.. Compare the two.. Ah the lies, ah the “we’re all going to die” BS.
According to a study (and it is a common, well respected study), a total of 68 000 deaths were attributable to flu epidemics in the winter months between 2013 and 2017. 17,000/yr average.. I cannot find Italy’s 2019/2020 flu numbers. Guess they were all Covid-19 deaths.
Italy now has the highest number of deaths in the world from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. As of Friday (March 27), the country had reported more than 9,100 deaths, according to worldometer, a website tracking COVID-19 cases. And the country’s fatality rate from COVID-19 — at 10% — is much higher than the global average of 3.4%, according to the World Health Organization.
Craig,
The fact that you have readers and “thinkers” who are quoting both Fox News and the New Yorker speaks volumes about the objectivity of your reporting. Keep it up! And do some more outdoor adventure articles if you can. Thanks
Anybody want to guess how long Covid-19 has been around? Also, if what this article says is true we have been living with it for awhile and life went on… and if what they say is true, the death rate is way, way lower.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronavirus-antibody-testing-finds-bay-area-infections-85-times-higher-reported-researchers
Steve Stine finally coming out of the closet as a fully formed conservative is more mind boggling to me than the average American’s willingness to allow the government to trample over their constitutional rights.
I have my doubts about Steve S being a fully formed conservative, but if he has seen the light and changes his spots I will fully apologize for what I’ve said to him. A wise man once said trust but verify, Steve S hasn’t reached the trust part of the equation yet but he’s getting there.
As far as trampling constitutional rights, there are laws on the books that allow limited restrictions to certain rights that are well short of being martial law. The Jacobson decision by the Supreme Court in 1905 is one, and worth reviewing.
The Jacobson decision did not have an effect on the overall economy like the current national lockdown does.
There are big differences between a $5 dollar fine from refusing a state mandatory vaccination and telling the public “we do not know when it will be safe to leave your houses”.
The Jacobson decision was also made somewhat invalid as states have since moved to grant immunization exemptions for religious and philosophical reasons.
A lot has happened since 1905 in the field of “civil liberties” in America and it may be time to get this “thing” into the courts since it looks as though there is no visible end in site.
What we are seeing today, is just like 100 years ago, the wealthy elites are pushing their drugs in the form of vaccines.
This is evident from all the b.s. coming out from sources like the Washington Post who want us to fear germs now more than ever before.
Steve,
The 5th Circuit Court recently ruled that abortion can be restricted, they used the Jacobson decision as a part of their ruling and said ”That settled rule allows the state to restrict, for example, one’s right to peaceably assemble, to publicly worship, to travel, and even to leave one’s home,” maybe this does go back in front of the SCOTUS again, we will see. And it doesn’t matter at all about the dollar value, freedom and liberty can’t be judged based upon monetary value.
Steve O,
I have been trying to look through the language of the Constitution and I think the government has a say over us driving on the Highway since they own it and can regulate vehicles.
The big difference is in our personal movement and perception of freedom.
Maybe this is why snowmachine riding was always OK in Alaska?
“…early as the Articles of Confederation the Congress recognized freedom of movement (Article 4), though the right was thought to be so fundamental during the drafting of the Constitution as not needing explicit enumeration…
in the absence of national legislation covering the subject, a state may rightfully prescribe uniform regulations necessary for public safety and order in respect to the operation upon its highways of all motor vehicles — those moving in interstate commerce as well as others…
A strong right to freedom of movement may yet have even farther-reaching implications.
The Supreme Court has acknowledged that freedom of movement is closely related to freedom of association and to freedom of expression.”
( Wikipedia)
Personal freedom of movement, association and expression is way in front of your right to an abortion…like maybe 200 years.
Steve,
I’m glad to hear that you are informing yourself about the constitution. If we, as a people, were to take our responsibilities as citizens serious then the mandates that are being handed down wouldn’t be necessary because people would take personal responsibility for their actions. It’s sad that we have strayed so far from the basic understanding of our countries founding. When people are complaining about their rights being trampled but they can’t even say what rights are being trampled it is a sad state of affairs. Just saying ‘Merica and rights doesn’t mean anything, we should know which specific rights have been violated…if you can’t tell me which specific right has been violated then how could you possibly know your rights have been violated?
And Steve, rights aren’t based upon which one came first at all. They are, as the Declaration of Independence says, self-evident and unalienable.
I’m proud of you Steve for opening your mind and seeing what is going on around you, but mostly for informing yourself…just be wary of what sources you use, try to go to the source before just believing any website.
Steve O, I am going to say to some degree that certain states are violating people’s 1st, 2nd, and to some extent the 14th Amendment.
Not using this as an example oer day but these Democrats are reminiscent of Nazi Germany:
” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told New Yorkers Saturday that they can snap smartphone photos of social distancing violations and text them to authorities and “enforcement will come” as the coronavirus shutdown remains in place across the Big Apple.
“Now it is easier than ever,” he said in a video posted to his official Twitter account. “When you see a crowd, when you see a line that’s not distanced, when you see a supermarket that’s too crowded — anything — you can report it right away so we can get help there to fix the problem.”
It is a start..A federal court in Kansas issued a temporary restraining order Saturday against an executive order capping church gatherings at 10 people due to COVID-19, according to a local report.
The move came a week after the Supreme Court of Kansas ruled in favor of Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who saw her order overturned by a GOP-led panel of state lawmakers.
Bryan,
Now we’re getting somewhere! There are certainly some states, and probably more than a few local governments violating the 1st Amendment Rights of Americans. The 2nd Amendment Rights are under continual attack by the left, this covid crisis has actually seen more people who were once opposed to our right to bear arms purchase arms themselves. The 14th is an interesting one, the Jacobson decision by the SCOTUS answers it, but if it goes before the SCOTUS again I will be very interested in the ruling.
As a service to readers, here are recent annual deaths from other causes in the US alone, many of which go largely unnoticed year by year, but most of which are preventable. (The data are compiled from the National Center for Health Statistics, the National Safety Council, and other sources). How did COVID-19 get so crazy?
• 1,900: strep throat
• 3,000: food poisoning
• 5,000: choking
• 6,946: accidental hanging
• 7,450: pedestrians hit by a car
• 7,740: obesity
• 12,316: pregnancy-related
• 20,108: inflammation resulting from food or liquids getting into the lungs
• 35,000: antibiotic-resistant bacteria
• 35,823: alcohol-induced deaths
• 36,336: falls
• 40,922: blood poisoning resulting from bacteria
• 47,173: suicide
• 55,672: flu and pneumonia
• 64,795: accidental poisoning
• 83,564: diabetes
• 121,404: Alzheimer’s
• 160,201: chronic lower respiratory disease
• 169,936: all accidental deaths
• 250,000: medical errors
• 599,108: cancer
• 647,457: heart disease
Del,
Apples to apples,those figures are annual i presume.C19=35.5k for what 2 months or so?
Dell. Can you provide a source for these numbers?
I remember when Anchorage’s traffic was always this light………….
I remember when we used to pass a whiskey bottle
around a campfire of strangers.
Do you remember when elected American Leaders were still Patriots and not Chin Com Fascists?
Wonder if Ole Pelosi takes that Boeing 757 from DC to CA every weekend like she did the last time she was Speaker to see her family? Nice lil perk for a Fascist.
Keep your fingres crossed.
President Donald Trump sent a series of messages on Twitter to Democrats on Friday, demanding they start lifting state lockdowns after the coronavirus has hit its peak.
“Liberate Minnesota, Liberate Michigan, Liberate Virginia,” Trump wrote on Twitter, pointing to Democrat governors who still had their states locked down.
Bryan,
Trump is moving in the right direction, but leaving it up to govenors will just keep our future in the hands of the overzealous “medical czars” like Dr Zink who think we should just accept a “new norm” for future generations.
What we are seeing is true leadership in time of crisis comes from “ground up” leaders…not “top down” politicans.
I am much more thankful for the Gen-Xers who stood up for their constitutional rights in Michigan and got the protests rolling across the nation.
We are seeing this support carrying sheriffs, media personalities and representatives right up to the President.
Grassroot rallies and demonstrations will save Americans from the collapse of Liberty and Freedom…this is an old survival mechanism that has worked since the Boston Tea Party.
I’ve been calling them “central planners” the best ideas always come from these guys; Adolph, Stalin & Mao. I struggle to find a name for our new system although it matches a lot National Socialism parameters.
Jk,
Tedros Adhanom (the leader of the WHO) is considered a “Maoist” by many critics in academia including Dr. Shiva from MIT.
Here is an excerpt from a report published by the Council on Foreign Relations.
“On January 28, Tedros met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Following the meeting, Tedros commended China for “setting a new standard for outbreak control” and praised the country’s top leadership for its “openness to sharing information” with the WHO and other countries.
Yet in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese officials were busy arresting and punishing citizens for “spreading rumors” about the disease, while online censors controlled the flow of information.”
We cannot be led into a system of oppression by these global “medical czars”…this corona flu is a real test of our nation’s ability to move beyond the media induced panic and fear.
The “China model” of lockdown never should have been applied in America and now we are seeing politicians true colors as they push mandates further into our future.
https://www.cfr.org/blog/who-and-china-dereliction-duty
Whooda thunk Joe McCarthy had such foresight?????
Do you remember when both parties pulled together and were pro-USA? No! Me either…
Yes I do. After 9-11. Bipartisan support for pro usa… which devolved into support for a stupid invasion of Iraq… At least trump hasn’t invaded anyone, yet. That’s about the only good thing I can say about him…
What a load of horse shit. I literally lost track of how many people on the left held an opinion after 9/11 that could be summed up as “America had it coming.”