The CDC announced Americans will begin receiving vaccines on Monday (12-14) and better days are coming. So, let’s reflect upon the lessons of COVID-19 and the state of the union. There are clear goats; Obama-Biden’s empty PPE cupboards (H1N1 pandemic), shut-down Democrats, and fright-night reporting. There are clear heroes; Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, open-up Republicans, and dutiful hospital staff.
The entire world got a wake-up call with SARS in 2003, when it dodged a bullet and learned nothing – except for Taiwan, which knows Red China for the reckless nation it is. Hence, it created and maintained future pandemic procedures and stockpiles; thereby resulting in 733 total COVID cases, 601 recoveries, and only 7 deaths. The little democracy hasn’t had a lockdown, because 23,000,000 citizens proactively put on masks and their government quarantines in-bound travelers.
In contrast, the USA built PPE stockpiles under Bush-Cheney and depleted them under Obama-Biden. In plain-speak, we let our pandemic insurance policy lapse at the federal and blue-state level. Remember the blame game played by Cuomo? I do, because New York’s governor allowed PPE stocks to vanish as a budget-cutting gesture (huge deficits remained). Bad leaders flop and finger-point; which moved Biden to consider Cuomo for Attorney General, where he can really bugger it up!
In too many governor’s mansions, tiny-thinking liberals flop and finger-point. Democrats proclaim COVID an existential threat akin to war, but historians they’re not. Churchill’s keep calm and carry on orders kept kids in school and businesses open to preserve an educated generation and Britain’s economy. Lockdowns are no sure thing – not even close – but US test scores are REALLY falling and small businesses are REALLY failing.
Throughout the pandemic, the true villain has been liberal media (late-night hosts, round-table pundits, and reporters) using COVID to oust an incumbent. Yes, daily Trump briefings were snow jobs, but the press has an obligation to report and inform a worried nation. Sadly, legacy media (e.g. NBC) didn’t rise above partisan lean; thereby proving liars figure and figures lie.
The New York Times site now reports 71,000,000 cases, 1,600,000 deaths, and 46,800,000 recoveries worldwide, BUT 1,600,000 cases, 298,000 deaths, and 0 recoveries in the US. The Cleveland Clinic reports 15,600,000 infections, 299,000 deaths, and 0 recoveries in the US. The WHO site reports 6,672,000 US recoveries. Two observations: (1) most reporters conflate case, infection, and positive test numbers, and (2) few report recovery numbers.
After crafting a budget with Democrats and deftly managing the Gulf War, Bush One was ousted by an ungrateful nation. I was ashamed of Clinton voters (suckers) then and Biden voters (all-day suckers) in November. They ousted a man who wisely followed Taiwan’s lead, calmly urged Americans to carry on, answered trap questions from biased reporters, re-built PPE stocks ASAP, and fast-tracked multiple vaccines.
The lesson of COVID is this: Jesus could walk on the Potomac and into Congress, and Nancy Pontius Pilate Pelosi would have him arrested for a non-essential miracle.