How Covid-19 changed America

 In 2020 the world changed dramatically.  Covid-19 began spreading like wildfire and countries struggled to handle the pandemic response.  While the initial evidence pointed to a lab in Wuhan may in our media and Government took the opportunity to take shots at the President for wanting to prevent travel from China.  They called him Xenophobic, Racist, and a White Supremacist all because he wanted to limit Americas exposure to people traveling from the suspected country of origin.  In March the Government suggested we lockdown for 15 days.  The phrase "15 days to slow the spread" lead the way.  Most Americans were understanding of that request and many businesses shut down, schools closed, and people stayed home.  High school graduations were cancelled or moved to virtual ceremonies.  By Aug 2020 when schools were to open back up people had been locked down for 5 months or more.  Almost all of the schools chose to move to remote learning.  Business had moved to remote work.  People had gotten used to the lockdowns and just went along, forgetting "15 days to slow the spread."  But not all people forgot that, some started pushing back on the regulations and rules imposed by our government.  Masking became a point of conflict.  One side supported masks forever, the other supported no masks at all.  In reality everyone should have been free to make their own choices.

So what did the Government learn during all of it?  They learned how easily Americans would believe whatever their chosen news source fed them.  They learned that Americans would go along to get along, even at the expense of their lives.  They learned how easily we could be manipulated to turn against one another.  They took two years of lockdown and divided us even further and faster than their previous idea (racial division).  Now we are divided by race, medical opinions, fear and income levels.  The poor and minority communities are being told the "rich" are doing whatever they want while locking us commoners down.  Minority communities have historically been told and are being told to not trust law enforcement because "All cops are racist."  We have seen a rise in lawlessness as cities refuse to prosecute "petty" crimes like theft and arson.  Violent crime is on the rise as we have seen attacks on the street in broad daylight.  Instead of stepping in people pull out their phones and "get the footage" so they can be famous.  Criminals and illegal immigrants have more rights than war veterans.  Cops are attacked in their cars and murdered and nothing happens.  We saw entire city blocks taken over and turned into autonomous zones where law enforcement was forced out.  That area, which was meant to be similar to a hippy commune, quickly was turned over to warlord Raz Simone and his "police" force took over.  People were injured and killed, and medical help was prevented from getting to them.  Did the government blame him or his goons?  Nope they blamed the medical professional for not doing enough and getting there in time.  All of this in just 2 years.

Just this week we saw a man pulled from his car by 5 police officers and brutally beaten and killed.  Major news networks quickly blamed white supremacy and the cops, until they found out the officers were all black and so was the man killed.  Fox news highlighted the cops as having gone way beyond protect and serve and even demanded justice.  What did the left-wing media do?  Had headlines like "Fox news finally puts blame where it belongs, with cops" and then they proceeded to demand police reform and once again "defunding" the police.  I watched that terrible video and all 5 of these cops need to face the justice they refused the man they killed.  Do I think that will happen?  No.  My reasoning is simple, it doesn't fit the left-wing narrative.  The left-wing narrative is simple, minorities are suffering under white supremacy every single day and white people are to blame.  For them nothing is not racist.  They say things like "If you aren't actively anti-racist then you are racist."  Remember earlier I said that was the first tactic they tried to use to divide us.  

Everything being pushed in the media and from left leaning politicians is meant for one thing, to push division.  That division is needed to control us as people.  While the elites run the government, we suffer.  While they make the rules, we suffer.  While they continue to keep people under their thumb, we suffer.  As we saw with masking and lockdowns once we as Americans unite and push back they change course.  America is a melting pot of all cultures and people.  We embrace LEGAL immigration.  When left to our own will we naturally do the right thing.  We do care about each other once we clear the fog of what the media is telling us.  Yes there are evil people in the world.  Some people are racist, sexist, and all the other words used to divide. Most people who embrace those values are quickly outed and suffer social consequences for their words and actions.  

America is not systemically racist.  In America we have the unique opportunity to move between economical classes.  You might be born rich, middle class or poor, but you alone can change all of it with your actions and motivation.  Yes some people start ahead with "generational" wealth and some of those people lose everything because of their actions.  Some people are born poor and with less but they make it out and move into the upper class with hard work and motivation.  To tell any kid "No matter how hard you work you will never be as good or get as far ahead as this kid" sets them up for failure.  It disgusts me that we have accepted mediocrity and whining as the standard.  Newer regenerations have accepted being victims.  They all believe they should not have to work long hours or put in max effort at work because they have been conditioned to believe if they aren't given it the person refusing to give it is "attacking" them or hates who they are.  We have raised a generation of pushovers who can't even handle a full 8-hour shift without devolving into the stock room to cry and make a Tik Tok video demanding "unionization."  Those who went to college to get a degree demand that society pays their student loans (yes that system sucks and needs to be overhauled as well). They demand $15/hour for entry level work and then cry about milk being $7/gallon.  They haven't been taught supply and demand, skill-based income or simple economics and survival skills.  For 2 years they did distant learning and honestly how many of them put in the effort?  We have seen scores and motivation decline.

Our future generations are in trouble.  Covid-19 showed the Government how quickly they can seize control.  They control the media, our school systems and our businesses.  Covid-19 did not force the government to do these things, they were working toward it already.  Covid allowed them to take what they have wanted all along.  We as Americans need to unite, demand term limits on all elected positions, demand the government work for us not the other way around.  Lets stop fighting against ourselves and do what is best for future generations!

Biden and his first primetime appearance!

 

I took time about four days ago to listen to our fearless leader Joe Biden address the nation for the first time officially.  I wanted to make this blog to cover what was said and my thoughts on it.  I went into the speech with low expectations but open to being surprised. Lets get going!

The first statement he made was "A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months."  As I expected his first point was to point fingers and say Trump did not act fast enough, which we know has been proven false.  He followed that up by pointing out his concern by pulling his "card" out of his pocket which he carries at all times with the most up to date number of "Americans who have died from COVID." He makes sure to add "That's more deaths than in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined."  While an accurate statement it is comparing apples to cars.  Wars are nothing like a communicable disease.  He moves onto the human aspect of isolation and job loss due to the restrictions placed by governments across the US and mainly in states or cities run by liberal Democrats.  

In the next section of the speech he moves onto the vaccine.  He states when he took over "this country didn't have nearly enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all or anywhere near all of the American public" while forgetting the vaccines were created during Operation Warp Speech under President Trump and when he took power there was only 2 vaccines and they had just began being distributed and administered one month earlier.  He praises the companies, and rightly so, while at the same time taking credit for the vaccine being shipped and administered when he simply took over the process in its early phase and followed the same plan already in place.  He then talked about his "plan" to open vaccination centers across the US but did not give any firm plan forward.  

Then we get to the real meat of what he wanted to say.  He says "in the coming weeks, we will issue further guidance on what you can and cannot do once fully vaccinated to lessen the confusion, to keep people safe, and encourage more people to get vaccinated."  This statement is skillfully crafted to encourage getting vaccinated while at the same time issuing a backhanded threat of more lockdowns and restrictions if we as Americans choose to not get vaccinated.  He then adds "If we all do this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4th, there's a good chance you, your families and friends, will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or barbeques and celebrate Independence Day."  How freaking nice of him to give us independence day for complying with big governments demands.  He goes on further to state "Because if we don't stay vigilant and the conditions change and we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track" aka do what we say or else.

He concludes with "God bless you all and please, God, give solace to all those people who lost someone.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you for taking the time and listening.  I look forward to seeing you."  No God Bless America?  Not a big shock to me but there we have it.  

Here is my thoughts on the virus and vaccine.  Just like the masks and other precautions I believe it should be every single Americans right to do or not do any of these things.  The good news is Biden made it through the 30 min without completely botching it.

The masks are coming off...

 

As we approach the one year anniversary of the 15 day lockdown to slow the spread of Covid some states are taking steps to open up and end mask mandates.  Just this week the Texas and Mississippi Governors ended their state mask mandates and reopened their states 100%!  As the numbers of deaths and infected are falling quicker than the legacy that is Andrew Cuomo some Governors are realizing their states need to reopen and are finally taking the steps necessary to provide their citizens the ability to survive and pay their bills.  I support this decision completely.  It is actions like these that will define which people begin to live again and which ones will become drones living off the govt for a lifetime.  Family finances, mental health, and self sufficiency is what is at risk.  So now is the time to decide are you willing to give up your freedoms for "safety" or are you willing to accept risk to support yourself?

Since the beginning of the pandemic I have been an avid supporter of people deciding for themselves the precautions they are willing to take to avoid getting themselves or their families sick.  Our government officials have made people think they are the end all be all of information and encourage compliance instead of allowing people to educate themselves and make the decisions.  A friend of mine had shared a comic the other day which showed a guy getting the vaccine and then running out and licking all kinds of things like door knobs, animals, etc.  My friend commented "Please keep in mind the vaccine is intended to protect others from you. lol".  I googles what is a vaccine and found the definition is "A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly like it would if you were exposed to the disease.  After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first."  And I commented this shows that vaccines ONLY protect the person not anyone else.  After taking a day and discussing this post and my comment with my wife, who has a degree in biology, she helped me realize the personal decision to vaccinate is to protect yourself but the benefits to others is you cannot get the virus and thus it does protect others as well.  So I replied to my comment correcting my error.  This is what more people need to do!  Get educated on a topic and then be willing to admit you were wrong if need be.

I wanted to take this time and post to restate my position on Covid, mask mandates, and lockdowns.  First I know Covid is real and exists.  The lockdowns while good in intention have proven to do more harm than good.  The mask mandates are just ridiculous, the "science" has constantly changed and I have been told it is because as scientists learn more they have to correct their recommendations.  While I do understand new evidence can change the recommendations, why not wait until you have a steady conclusion before mandating every American to comply?  In the past month we were told that wearing two or three masks would make you safer, if that is true why have we been unprotected with one mask for the past 12 months?  I think every single citizen and business should have the freedom to work, be open, mask  or no masks, and make the ultimate decision as to what precautions they are willing to take to avoid the risk of contracting Covid.  I firmly believe the federal and local govts have taken this opportunity to snatch power and impose regulations that only benefit big corporations and government entities.  

There is no reason at this point any state should not be following Texas and Mississippi and ending this ridiculous lockdowns and mask mandates.  Next blog I will dive into cancel culture and the woke mobs destruction of everything.

"This is the worst year humans have ever lived through"

 So 2020 is almost over and as many people point out on all forms of social media "it is the worst year ever!"  I have read and watched videos of people claiming that Covid, loss of jobs, economic impact, and everything else we have dealt with is the worst thing to ever happen in human history.  So I spent the past few days pondering on such claims and really examining what could make this the worst year ever, here are my findings.

As the world got hit with a worldwide pandemic many countries took a strong stance of locking everything down to slow the spread of the virus.  Some countries chose not to do this.  Since I live in America I wanted to focus specifically on how the virus has made this the worst year ever.  Here in America we were running head first into an already heated election cycle.  The vast majority of the media had taken a side and began to run only stories to hurt the sitting President.  The other candidate was a 70 something man who was obviously in cognitive decline, but the media denied this and said he was the one to save us from the virus.  In March our government said we needed to lockdown for 15 days to slow the spread of the virus, most of us were ok with that because we understood our hospitals and medical supplies needed to have time to be fully prepared for the impact of the virus.  So we as obedient citizens closed our businesses, left work, cleared shelves of toilet paper and began the 15 days of sleeping in, watching Netflix, and hanging on ever update about the virus.  That 15 days got extended to 30, then 45, and here we are 8 months later with a lot of us still unemployed and businesses closing permanently (The one exception of course were big fish like Amazon and Walmart who have made millions leaning towards trillions while people struggled to pay bills).  Our kids schools have been closed and some parents forced to choose keeping a job and allowing their kids education to suffer or quitting the job and become a full time home school parent.  For a majority of us the financial impact is where we got hurt the worst.  In the end the media spread scare tactics and people ate ever last drop of it.  So what made the year so bad for us as Americans?  We have gotten to spend more time with our spouses and children, we have gotten to take that time to reaffirm faith, help other people as much as we could, and have the time to enjoy the fruits of our freedoms.  For me that isn't so bad.

The next step I took was looking into what scientists say was the worst year or period of time ever.  The most current article I can find came in 2018.  Some believed 1347 was as the black plague began to ravage the world.  Some said 1941-1945 when the holocaust happened.  1918 when the flu pandemic started which killed over 100 million people worldwide was another.  In the end they settled on 538, why this year?  That year a mysterious dusty fog appeared blocking the sun, causing temps to plunge and setting off years of around-the-world chaos.  Drought, crop failure, summertime snow in China, and widespread famine.  So at that time people didn't have Netflix and were not being asked to sit on their couches and wait it out.  People literally struggled to find food and survive!  

My point in this whole thing is asking people to take a step back and put this year into perspective.  You did not have to fight genocide, famines, droughts, plagues, great depression, or any other major event that the world has lived through.  You were asked to wear your jammies, watch TV, wear masks, and wait.  To me that makes this year one of the best years we have lived through.  Because of my job I have not had that luxury.  I have continued to have to go to work, battle the stores (So my spouse and kids did not have to take the risk), and most of all listen to all you entitled and self indulged asshats complain about masks or no mask, needing another series to watch on Netflix, why is this protest a virus spreader and this other one isnt, and most of all listen to all the bullshit theorists and non-fact scientists debate something we simply have no control over and have to wait out.  The only thing that made 2020 bad for me was you idiots.  Outside of that this year has been ok.  Sure I have to do things differently when I go into public.  Sure some of my favorite places have closed for good.  But in the end I got to see the true nature of this generation of people.  I got to cut people out of my life that I might disagree with but due to Covid realized they are not and will never be rational.  In the end my personal relationships have grown and I feel closer to my family than any previous year.  My only fear leading into the future is how all of the things I mentioned above will impact our stability as a civilization.  How those divisions will hurt our future.  But as many TV shows used to say stay tuned!

Tale of two viruses

 

Covid-19 has turned 2020 into a tale of two viruses.  On almost every media outlet we are told the death tolls and fed fear about the infection rate.  But there is another side to this issue and that is what hardly anyone else is talking about, the survivability rate.  We are bombarded daily by the newest death toll, lockdowns from govt officials, told if we don't all wear masks we are trying to kill off the elderly and high risk people, and given numbers which go up and down on an almost hourly basis.  The problem here is very obvious to anyone willing to verify sources and validate claims, NOBODY knows anything for sure!

At the beginning of 2020 Covid-19 reached American shores, or so we were told.  I know some people personally who had symptoms and such long before Jan 2020.  The list of protections included masks, social distancing, hand sanitizer, and proper hygiene.  At first we were told by govt officials and medical experts not to go and buy masks as they were not effective against this strain of virus.  Then a few months later we were told masks were the only way to prevent yourself from getting the virus and they had only told us they were not so the medical front line workers would have access to the masks they needed to protect themselves.  Then about a month or so later other medical experts came out claiming masks could not protect you and the CDC shifted to protecting others as the reason for the masks.  It has gone on like this all year.  The only things that were constant were social distancing and washing your hands.  

As we reached March we saw widespread lockdowns and were told 15 days to slow the spread of Covid to ensure the hospitals did not get overwhelmed.  The period for the lockdown varied by state with some staying locked down for months on end.  These decisions crushed local businesses while giants like Walmart and Amazon made billions.  It should be noted that those giants are also the ones backing lockdowns until a vaccine is available, wonder why.  So did the lockdowns help?  Yes it did slow the spread and allow our hospitals to stock up and prepare for virus better.  As states began opening up we saw a rise in cases as expected.  The hospitals did not get overwhelmed yet some state governors refused to open things back up.  This caused a massive protest against the lockdowns.  When that happened the news told us that all the business owners were putting us all at risk being out in large groups protesting.  Yet when there were large groups protesting police brutality the media  applauded these people and claimed the virus would not be spread there.  I think this is the first virus in history to be so socially conscious.  

So here we are Dec 2020 and I am still seeing people on social media spread fear of a virus that has a survivability rate that exceeds 98%.  Daily they post about the latest death numbers, how it isn't a flu and should be feared, and mock those of us who are looking at this from a statistical and real perspective.  They say that looking at it that way is discounting those who have died or will die from this illness.  As we saw from Thanksgiving a few days ago people are tired of not being around family and friends.  People are sick and tired of isolation.  People just want to get on with our lives.  I have yet to hear anyone who looks at the actual statistics say that masks, social distancing and protecting those most vulnerable should not be done and don't make a difference.  

So which of these two viruses is reality and which is not.  Truth is both exist and it is up to every single person to decide their level of comfort and what precautions and risks they are willing to take.  I happen to fall into the camp that knows the virus is not going away.  I understand the large impact these restrictions and lockdowns are having on communities all over the US.  I have had family members get the virus, be hospitalized, and make it through even though they were in multiple high risk categories.  I know people who have lost loved ones are impacted but also know that other factors are causing loss of life as well.  Alcoholism, domestic violence, suicide and homicides are all on the rise.  As people lose their business, jobs, income, homes, and marriages who is going to protect them?  The most honest answer for all of this is simple; Wear a mask, social distance as much as possible, was your damn hands, avoid being around people if you feel sick, and most of all stop being afraid.  This virus will be with us forever and we need to look it in the face and say we will not live in fear.  Our govt will not stop us from living our lives.  Businesses need to stand up and be willing to open despite the risks.  Only if we unite against tyrannical leaders unjust policies can we ever see some form of normality again.

How 2020 has turned into 1984

 

In America Thanksgiving means something.  For some it is a terrible day of oppression and the slaughter of Native Americans.  For others it is a celebration of our freedoms and a time for family and friends to get together and share a great meal and great memories.  But this is 1984, oh sorry I mean 2020, and as we know from all that has happened this year we can not expect anything to go as usual.  In the last month we had an election, which is still not finalized, and the hope of many was that the results would put the Covid-19 risks to rest and allow us to return to normal life, fat chance.

As Thanksgiving has drawn closer we have seen an increase in Governors flexing their political muscle and imposing their will on the citizens in their states.  In NY Gov. Cuomo got into a shouting match with a reporter about the schools closing down again despite the risk being almost non-existent to the children of the NY City school systems.  Gov Newsome in California has imposed lockdown restrictions on his citizens, closing businesses, and forcing curfews at night.  I watched a video today of the police in Los Angeles rolling down the street to "enforce" the curfew.  One officer gets out of his armored car and approaches a man in a robe on his front porch.  He tells the man to go inside due to the curfew.  The guy says something about it being his front porch at which point the officer tackles him and shouts he is under arrest for violating the Gov's curfew order.  THE GUY WAS ON HIS FRONT PORCH!  In Pennsylvania the governor put an order in place closing stores and also prohibiting alcohol sales after 5pm tomorrow.  Does any of this seem like Big Brother from 1984 is actually happening here in 2020?

You may be asking Why should I care?  Well it is simple, the governors are taking away the freedom we are preparing to celebrate!  We as Americans should have the freedom to go to a store to buy food for the celebration, booze to drink, and other supplies you may need in your home.  How many freedoms will we give up before it is to late?  Well I did see a business owner in Boston who had police come into his business and try to close him down.  They said he was in violation of the shut down order issues by the Gov.  He told them who reported him because he is lawfully allowed to confront his accuser.  They refused to answer and he then told them to leave his business and if they wanted to shut him down to come back with a warrant!  What did the cops do? They left.  They realized they had no authority to tell this guy he could not be in his business.  That is exactly how we need to handle this tsunami of authoritarian control.  

1984 was a work of fiction, 2020 is not.  We are being restricted in tiny steps more and more.  It started with lockdowns in March, then went into mandatory mask wearing, then we were told we couldn't worship at churches while thousands rioted in the streets, and now we have come full circle and lockdowns are immanent again.  If the lockdowns worked the first time why is it needed again?  If it didn't work why are we doing it again?  The answer is simple, authoritarians trying to usurp our constitutionally given rights.  They want us to Never Trust Your Own Eyes, Believe What You Are Told.