China To Purchase MSNBC, CNN

Monday, April 13, 2020 (The Year of the Rat)

News Services— In a surprise announcement earlier today, China revealed that it has agreements in place to purchase both MSNBC and CNN, two of the three main American cable news networks. Wu Han Yú, spokesperson for China’s Xinhua News Agency, told reporters “It only makes sense to add these two great, independent news organizations to our Xinhua News Agency Family under the auspices of our Dear Leader, Xi Jinping, and the Chinese Communist Workers Party.” Yú added that, with the “exciting” new additions, his government’s news organization would henceforth be known as the Xinhua News Network, or XNN.

                When asked what made MSNBC and CNN attractive to his government, Yú replied, “We were impressed by the accuracy and unbiased nature of both networks. Frankly, we just have great respect for the truth. It will be a perfect fit.”

                Yú was also asked what changes Xinhua planned for the two erstwhile American news outlets. He stated, “Very few changes need to be made. They are already in tune with our worldview—meaning the truth!—and so we will basically leave good enough alone, to use an American expression. We may change the title of CNN’s “State of the Union with Jake Tapper” to “State of the People’s Republics with Jake Tapper.” And we might do more with Lisa Ling. Oh, and we’d like to see Rachel Maddow in a Hanfu or Zhongshan suit.”

Researchers Say Lockdown Might Need To Last 12-18 Months

            The government of the United Kingdom recently asked its citizens to cut off all unnecessary contact with other people, including friends and family, in response to recommendations from a British research team. Brits are also supposed to self-quarantine for 14 days if anyone in their home has a cough or a fever. What’s more, the researchers also averred that if the world’s lockdown measures are to truly be effective, they would need to be in effect for 12 to 18 months.

Doggone it. Does that make anyone else want to call the Euthanasia Society to see if they deliver? Oh well, as the Brits themselves say, “keep your pecker up!”

 Aris Katzourakis, a Professor of Evolution and Genomics at the University of Oxford, stated that the aggressive social distancing measures implemented now might only “buy time” for the U.K. and other countries to eventually implement aggressive high-tech tracking and surveillance measures. He added, “Once you get things under control, with a lot of targeted surveillance, there are ways of locally relaxing restrictions and returning to some level of activity. [But] it will never be the same until there is a cure, or a vaccine. ‘Returning to normal’ simply isn’t something we should expect to see for a very, very long time.”

It will never be the same? Hmm. The report essentially says that if even one person in the world has the coronavirus, the risk of the virus spreading will require us, meaning governments, to implement aggressive measures to stop it.

 Should this report be heeded, that is it for human life on Earth. Ironically, a purported attempt to (unrealistically) minimize the number of deaths will have guaranteed many more… and rendered freedom extinct along with those who perished. The world economy would be virtually destroyed, people destitute, hopeless, deranged. Domestic abuse, addiction and depression would be rampant. Civil unrest would jeopardize the lives of those who hadn’t already taken their own.

            Shouldn’t “aggressive measures” be taken to prevent this scenario?  

COVID-1984

                Not one, but two sicknesses have invaded the formerly free nations of the west. One is a virus, recently introduced from China, the other an even deadlier contagion, one that seeks out and destroys not just bodies, but minds and souls as well. It, too, has roots in Asia. To wit:

                Rhode Island is deploying the National guard and state police to hunt down individuals from New York who are seeking refuge in the Ocean State. Police are stopping cars bearing New York license plates. National Guard troops are going door-to-door in search of New Yorkers. Once found, they will be compelled to undergo a 14-day quarantine. If they refuse, they may be fined and jailed.

               Big Brother is Watching You.

   New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is threatening to permanently close down churches and synagogues that do not comply with his order to stop gathering during the coronavirus outbreak. He told them, “You’ve been warned, you need to stop services…” Residents of the Big Apple who break social distancing rules will be subject to $500 fines. The state has banned gatherings of any size, decreed that people stay a minimum of six feet away from each other, and ordered all nonessential businesses to shut down indefinitely.

                New Jersey police have arrested folks for hosting parties, including one person who hosted a pop-up wedding at his home. Governor Phil Murphy issued an executive order in March that prohibited “gatherings of individuals, such as parties, celebrations, or other social events” in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus in his state. At a recent news conference Murphy exclaimed, "If you do not need to be out, then we need you to stay at home.” He then added, “And even when you are at home, keep your distance between yourself and other family members."

   If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.

   The Laredo, Texas, city council recently passed a motion subjecting residents to a fine of up to $1,000 for not wearing some form of covering on their nose and mouth in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. All residents over the age of 5 are now required to have their nose and mouth covered when entering public buildings, using public transportation and when pumping gas.  

               We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.

   Police in Chicago recently broke up a funeral for violating Illinois’ stay at home order. A funeral.

   Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.

   In Greensboro, North Carolina, four men from the group Love Life were arrested for praying outside an abortion clinic while the county is under a stay at home order. Justin Reeder, Love Life’s lawyer, stated that the group is a religious non-profit, recognized by the federal government as providing charitable and social services and is therefore, pursuant to several provisions in the Guilford County proclamation and the United States Constitution, expressly permitted to continue prayer and ministry. No matter. As Reeder and the four men approached the abortion clinic they were promptly confronted by numerous squad cars, cited and arrested.

 Orthodoxy means not thinking--not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.

 Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development has ordered all big box retailers in the state, such as Wal-Mart and Costco, to stop the in store selling of items the agency has determined to be “non-essential.” So, even though these stores can stay open because they sell items the government deems essential, they must not sell the items they have on hand that it doesn’t think are all that necessary. How does it justify that? It doesn’t. Just do what Big Brother tells you to do. These stores must restrict access to the non-essential goods by closing aisles or removing the items from the sales floor. Moreover, showrooms and garden centers must be closed to customers, as well. Several other municipalities around the U.S. have issued similar decrees.

            Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced new guidelines for construction sites operating during the current pandemic, adding that the city will be sending inspectors out to these sites every day to ensure they are complying with the new edicts. Garcetti said, “We will not be shy about shutting down construction sites that do not comply, so comply.” He also used a recent press briefing to encourage citizens of the City of Light to report any businesses that may be violating the order, stating, “You know the old expression about snitches, well in this case snitches get rewards. We want to thank you for turning folks in and making sure we are all safe.”

 It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.

 “Government officials across the U.S. are using location data from millions of cellphones in a bid to better understand the movements of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic and how they may be affecting the spread of the disease,” read an article in a recent Wall Street Journal. The piece went on to state that federal, state and local governments are now receiving analyses about the presence and movement of people from their cellphone data.

 But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.

 Some American citizens have been threatened with arrest for leaving their homes without authorization or a government-approved reason for doing so. Small businesses are being told they must limit the numbers of customers in their stores and offices or that they must shut down entirely—or have their water and electricity shut off.

“You are a slow learner, Winston.”

“How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”

 The Serbian government recently banned its citizens from taking short walks with their dogs in the evening. It had previously graciously allowed them to take walks of up to 20-minutes with their furry family members. The country is now under curfew from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. daily.

Sanity is not statistical.

Germans have quickly taken to reporting their neighbors, fellow citizens, and businesses for disobeying social distancing rules. Germany introduced new measures in March forcing restaurants, pubs and sports facilities, among other entities, to close their doors, and also banned gatherings of people. Since then, the polizei have been inundated with calls from people reporting on their neighbors. An official in Magdeburg was moved to tell citizens that they shouldn’t overburden the police, stating, “People shouldn’t make a report every time they see three people sitting on a park bench,” according to the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. In some cases, jealous Germans have reported on Berliners traveling to their summer homes by identifying their license plates. This is sadly reminiscent of the East German Stasi, a network of over 200,000 informants that spied on friends, colleagues and relatives for that nation’s Communist government in order to crush dissent and force them into permanent submission.

Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter; only feelings matter.

England’s Neath and Port Talbot Council is using a space-age talking drone to chase people back into their abodes. The drone is equipped with speakers that will scream out, “This is a message from Neath and Port Talbot Council. Please follow the given rules at this time, you must stay home.” Nothing creepy there. At least it says “please.” One local opined that this is “next level stuff!” and added that it “feels a bit 1984-esque.” You think? (That’s the problem, we aren’t thinking anymore.)

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

No fewer than 24 countries are currently using telecommunications for tracking their citizens locations. At least 14 are using applications for contact tracing or quarantine enforcement. China, home of the virus, has introduced a “traffic-light system” that uses smartphone software to classify individuals as red, yellow or green and determine whether they can move about or meet.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

Google is releasing location data to 131 nations so authorities can determine if people are obeying self-isolating rules. The search engine colossus issues “Community Mobility Reports” showing the frequency of visits to shops, parks and workplaces.

Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.

Amnesty International’s tech division deputy director, Rasha Abdul Rahim, points out that “The recent past has shown governments are reluctant to relinquish temporary surveillance powers,” and adds, “We must not sleepwalk into a permanent expanded surveillance state now.”

Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.

We may already have done so. House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) recently affirmed Democrats’ intent to use the COVID-19 pandemic to further their ideological agenda when he said, "This is a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.”

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently said of the coronavirus crisis: “It is going to be transformative on a personal basis, on a social basis, on a systems basis. We're never going to be the same again.” Unfazed, a reporter asked him, “When do we get back to normal?” He replied, “I don't think we get back to normal. I think… we get to a new normal.”

Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.

      Some in government are legitimately trying to prevent people from dying. Some are giddy at the “tremendous opportunity” to increase their own power. Most would like to do both.

 If we fall victim to doublespeak, which, by Orwell’s definition, means “the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and accepting both of them,” we are sentencing ourselves to an unending servitude, a spiritual darkness never again to be pierced by the light of freedom. War is not peace. Freedom is not slavery. Ignorance is not strength.

As Ben Franklin noted, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

            Let’s hope this COVID-1984 crisis doesn’t end as Orwell’s novel did: “The struggle was finished. We had won the victory over ourselves. We loved big brother.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Disparages Samaritan's Purse

                New York City has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with scores of people dying every day. The Gotham City’s healthcare system has been stretched nearly to the breaking point. Fortunately, blessedly, Samaritan’s Purse, the global Christian charity, recently set up a large emergency field hospital in Central Park to help America’s largest city deal with the crisis.

                How did the Big Apple’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, react to this act of succor and benevolence? Did he fall to his knees and give thanks for the manna from heaven? Not precisely. In fact, he told the New York Post he found the idea of the field hospital “very troubling.” Apparently, Hizzoner is suspicious of the charity because its president and CEO, Franklin Graham, shares the Bible’s teachings on sexuality, leading him to believe that Samaritan’s Purse might somehow “discriminate” against members of the LGBT community. De Blasio told the Post: "I said immediately to my team that we had to find out exactly what was happening. Was there going to be an approach that was truly consistent with the values and the laws in New York City, that everyone would be served and served equally?" Good call.  I’m sure the charity’s first question to those in dire need of medical assistance would be, “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender communities?” Unbelievable.

                Though de Blasio received assurances from the organization that there would be no discrimination of any kind, he still felt compelled to state that he had partnered with the local health system to monitor the shady Christian’s field hospital. De Blasio boasted: "I spoke earlier today with the CEO of the Mount Sinai [health] system, Dr. Ken Davis, who was adamant that they will only continue their relationship with the organization if those rules are followed, that they have a written agreement, that there’s going to be no discrimination whatsoever. We’re going to send people over from the Mayor’s Office to monitor [the hospital]. So I’m very concerned to make sure this is done right.” Or else its curtains, I say! Curtains for you dastardly devils!

                 Hizzoner (and I use the term loosely) then softened his tone a bit and added, “But if it is done right, of course, we need all the help we can get."

                What kind of an epic jackass do you have to be to make these remarks to those who are providing you vitally needed, priceless assistance in times of an almost existential humanitarian crisis? This is asshattery of an almost Biblical scale, even if it comes from a Democrat who disdains the Bible.

                Democrats now openly try to score political points from every single catastrophe, every disaster, every tragedy. They don’t give a rat’s ass about any human being per se, only the ones they think might vote for them. It is incredible—or should be—that, in the midst of a pandemic, de Blasio essentially says, “Well, as long as this group doesn’t abide by any Biblical tenets, I will allow them to help us out and save people’s lives.”

                This is akin to allied leaders saying of Red Cross volunteers on World War II battlefields, “Our primary concern is that they don’t discriminate against pansexual transvestites, of course. That said, if they give us assurances in that regard, they are welcome to help.”

                Or Jews being liberated from Nazi concentration camps averring, “I don’t want to be freed if there are any anti-Semites in this unit!”

                Or British and French leaders during the Crimean War remarking, “As long as Florence Nightingale doesn’t discriminate in any way against atheists and agnostics, she’s free to keep aiding the wounded.”

   What the hell has happened to us?

   Wait, I think I see the problem: we aren’t abiding by many Biblical tenets.

               

Physicians Call For Suspension Of Abortion During Coronavirus Crisis

                Organizations representing more than 30,000 physicians signed a letter calling for the suspension of abortions in the interest of preserving medical resources vital to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The letter was signed by five groups representing “Physicians who practice according to the Hippocratic Oath,” and included the American College of Pediatricians and the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons.

                The letter read in part, “In such an uncertain and tumultuous time, the entire healthcare profession is being called upon to conserve resources and healthcare professionals to an extent never seen before. And yet, in the midst of this call, while hospitals are postponing elective procedures and many outpatient clinics are rescheduling non-essential office visits, the abortion industry continues with business as usual.”

                Ohio Attorney General David Yost also recently appealed to abortion clinics to “immediately stop performing non-essential and elective surgical abortions.” However, many have already indicated that they will defy the directive and continue performing abortions regardless of the raging global coronavirus pandemic.

                We have seen Italy’s healthcare system strained to the breaking point, with people 80 years old and up being told they won’t receive treatment because limited resources have to be prioritized. We have since seen that threshold changed to abandon those 60 years old and older. Experts have warned that the U.S. healthcare system could soon be similarly overwhelmed, as well. It is a travesty—and a tragedy—that abortion continues apace, siphoning off precious resources from the fight against what is being portrayed as one of the greatest global threats to human health in history…just as it literally siphons off the lifeblood of the babies subjected to it.

                This is doubly sinful. The more abortions performed today, the more likely others are to die as well.

Summer Vacation, Coronavirus Style

Like many of you, I am going a little stir-crazy after the long, cold winter. I am so looking forward to our summer vacation, when we are planning on traversing the length and breadth of this great…… backyard of ours, from the grassier areas in the southwest, to the more wooded northeast corner of our lot. Also, we plan to hit the driveway and spend a week in our camper, gazing out at the wondrous and ever-changing splendor of our neighborhood cul-de-sac. When we return home, we will hit the den and spend a couple of days visiting our big-screen television and the stereo. Then, it’s a quick stop in the family room to catch up with other family members, at socially healthy distances, of course. Naturally, the kids want to visit the game room, though I’d prefer some time in the utility room or the garage. Who knows, we may even travel to the spare bedroom, just to say we’ve been there. In any case, this is sure to be a vacation to remember, traveling all across this great land of ours. Makes me want to sing with joy! (Feel free to join in!)

♪This yard is your yard (honey), this yard is my yard,
From the western fence-line, to the eastern patio,
From the southern maple tree to the northern arborvitae,
This yard was made for you and me.♫

♪I roamed and rambled, and I followed my footsteps
To the gleaming rocks of our suburban landscaping
And all around me a voice was singing
This yard was made for you and me!♫

♪This yard is your yard (son), this yard is my yard,
From the western fence-line, to the eastern patio,
From the southern maple tree to the northern arborvitae,
This yard was made for you and me.♫

            Here’s hoping that you, too, can embark on a Great American Staycation!

Young People Lonelier Than Ever, Studies Show

                Several recent studies have revealed that people are feeling lonelier than in the past. This is especially true of youth and young adults under age 25. There is mounting evidence that younger folks, particularly in the wealthy West, are lonelier than they were in the past.

                For example, George Mason University conducted a study of 1,200 people in the United States and found that one in three of those polled under the age of 25 frequently felt lonely, as compared to only 11% of those older than 65. To many of us, this seems counterintuitive. Yet, another study, conducted in the United Kingdom, revealed that 40% of respondents between the ages of 16 and 24 felt lonely “often or very often,” as opposed to 27% of adults over 75.

                Stephanie Cacioppo, director of the Brain Dynamics Laboratory at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, stated in an email that: "Our research shows that loneliness is a subjective mental state rather than an age-related symptom. Loneliness does not discriminate. Everyone is at risk."

                Thank goodness loneliness doesn’t discriminate, or we’d have to subject it to lawsuits and fines! That said, why would today’s youth, with constant access and exposure to the internet, smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and a host of other social media platforms, be so much lonelier than those in days of yore? Ironically, perhaps because they have constant access and exposure to the internet, smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and a host of other social media platforms…but often not to both mom and dad, religious and community groups, a Bible, unrevised histories of their nations and traditions, and a hammock on the family homestead, free of all electronic devices and mindless interruptions, affording them the opportunity to truly connect…to the land, to their ancestors, and to their God…on a meaningful level.

                Snapchatting nudes, tweeting out banalities, nose stuck in their phones as they walk by other humans without seeing or acknowledging them, these youth experience others—and life in general-- as a sort of semi-pointless video game. Technological advances notwithstanding, this is no replacement for, for example, living on the family farm, slopping the hogs, swimming with the neighbor kids in the creek that runs through the back 40, listening to FDR give a fireside chat on the radio, and playing cards or a board game in the evening with your extended family at the dining room table. It. Just. Isn’t. 

                Leftists have done everything in their power to indoctrinate kids into believing that their country is bad, or at best unexceptional, but also that there is no power higher than government. They tell some of them that they are intrinsically racist and bigoted, and others that they are victims…and that neither group can do anything about it. And then they tell them that the world will end soon due to man-caused “climate change,” as if the climate was uniformly stagnant and stable prior to the industrial revolution.

                And then they wonder why many are lonely, lost and depressed.

                Ironically, today’s social media too often lead to loneliness and anti-social behavior, just as “progressive” policies and dogma eventually lead to hopelessness and despair.

Democrats Wrong About Everything Pertaining To The Coronavirus

It is interesting that the left blames Trump for all things coronavirus. Consider that everything progressives recommend makes the spread of disease faster and much more likely. Leftists want everyone to live in big cities, in multi-unit dwellings, the bigger and taller the better. They wish to de-emphasize or do away with the private automobile and herd everyone into various forms of mass transit public transportation. They would like to ban drive-throughs at fast food outlets, banks and pharmacies and make people enter these places of business and mingle together. They had already banned the use of disposable plastic bags in many localities. During this current pandemic, they have had to bring back the plastic bag and ban the use of the very reusable cloth bags of which they had been so fond due to their tendency to harbor potentially dangerous bacteria. You’d think they’d admit to having egg on their faces—as well as in their bags. But being progressive means never having to say you’re sorry, let alone wrong. This is why they still tout Socialism even after its 100-year track record of misery and death. Speaking of Socialism, “progressives” didn’t even want to ban travel to and from China as the COVID-19 pandemic was overtaking the globe. They said that would be xenophobic and bigoted…and brutalized President trump for doing so. How many more people would be sick and dying if he hadn’t? Leftists housing and drug policies have greatly exacerbated the homeless problem, which also aids and abets the spread of disease. And then there is their love of open borders and sanctuary cities. A perfect recipe for the needless introduction and distribution of sickness and affliction of every type. 

Every damn thing progressive Democrats (is there any other kind?) propose is wrong. Every policy prescription, every edict, every mandate. If we just did the opposite of whatever they propose to have us do, we would be immeasurably better off.

Still think they really care for people? Still believe them when they say things like, “even one death is too many?” (See also abortion and Planned Parenthood.) You shouldn’t, and they don’t. They only care about their ideas in a bubble. The same bubble in which they—and all their acquaintances-- live. They want to feel noble, superior to we troglodytes in fly-over country. That’s fine. Keep trying to lord your wokeness over us, you elitist frauds. Keep flying over us, too. Keep the diseases you nurture to yourself. That goes for the twin plagues of coronavirus…and Socialism.

                                          ***************************

(Labeling the coronavirus the China Flu is racist? Maybe we should go back to using the term “swine flu.” It’s been used before but would be particularly fitting in this case. We could name it for Pelosi, Schumer, AOC, Rashida Tlaib and all the rest of the Democratic scoundrels.)

Welcome To Dystopia: The Future Effects Of The Coronavirus Crisis

            As the world comes to a whimpering halt, some of us increasingly believe that the effects of the coronavirus crisis will be far-reaching and perhaps even permanent. There will be both positive and negative effects, to be sure, but, tragically, I’m afraid the negatives may far outweigh the positives. I have never more fervently wished to be wrong. I shall endeavor to list some of each to follow.

First, on the bright side, people may continue to practice better hygiene and be more diligent about cleanliness. Those in the mainstream media have again been shown to be amoral, fear-mongering hypocrites who couldn’t care less about non-elites…or the truth. Their credibility will be gone, their approval ratings at an all-time low. Maybe, just maybe, a few aspiring journalists may learn from this. With university classes going online only, many professors have already stated they are nervous about having everything they say, teach and promulgate be recorded for posterity. Roaches don’t like exposure to sunlight and fresh air. The most radical and dangerous of these instructors will have nowhere to hide. Colleges will likely be seen as unnecessary in their current guise and shown to be outrageously and needlessly expensive. When people realize they can get much the same education online, it will be much harder for the schools to justify their staggering administrative and social-justice compliance expenditures, as well as their profligate spending on physical fixtures and amenities. Moreover, there will be a concurrent rise in home schooling and a greater respect for those so educated. This will help loosen the grip the government has on indoctrination…I mean education.

Hopefully, American (and other free market capitalist nation’s) businesses will be recognized as the most responsive, creative, efficient, productive and successful in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak and creating vaccines to prevent its continued spread. At the same time, perhaps the Iranian mullahs will be further weakened, and China recognized as the problem it is on many levels. Could the Chinese Communist government also lose any credibility it somehow heretofore possessed?

Now for the negatives, which are many and pernicious. Many small businesses will likely be unable to reopen. We will be saddled with massive, potentially world-economy destroying debt. Unemployment rates will likely stay higher than before the crisis, as not working is being incentivized and subsidized while businesses, employment, productivity, and success are being disincentivized or outright punished. There will be a concurrent increase in dependence and loss of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. There has already been increased acceptance of government control of every aspect of our lives: when and if we can work, where we are “allowed” to go and who we can see among them. America was already flirting with Socialism. It may be ready to consummate the relationship…and make it permanent. There have been calls for a one-world government to most effectively deal with pandemics such as this. Those calls will only grow louder and more frequent. (If you think this is a good idea, reflect on how effective the U.N. is at solving the world’s woes.)

One aftereffect I haven’t heard mentioned is the likelihood that large scale or even global shutdowns and lockdowns will become more frequent, and for ever-less dire threats. Look at how this crisis was handled by world governing bodies as opposed to SARS, H1N1 (Swine Flu) and other previous viral outbreaks.  

Then there are the social repercussions. Already articles have pointed out that there is less pollution because of the lack of manufacturing and business activity. Animals are comparatively thriving. Why, the planet is better off! This idea that humans are bad for the Earth will gain more traction. Then, there is likely to be continued social avoidance, a lingering leeriness to human interaction of every kind. You may see a diminution of handshakes, hugging, kissing and person-to-person affection in general. There may even be less human intercourse and a falling birth rate. Sex-bots and dolls will increasingly replace real humans as preferred—and safer—partners for intimacy, though whatever transpires between a human and a robot cannot truly be “intimate.” Some experts say that a measurable percentage of the population may “marry” these advanced, fleshy robots. Sexting and internet porn have gotten even more prevalent and will probably continue to do so. Masturbation will become the main form of human sexual expression.

Finally, there will be ever more reliance on artificial intelligence (A.I.) in all things. And people will have real difficulty in discerning between virtual reality and…reality.

Ironically, though the Chinese Communist government has threatened to cast the U.S. “into the mighty Sea of Coronavirus,” we are, in reality, being rapidly carried down the River of Doubt, past Cape Fear, and are about to be deposited into the Dirty Delta of Socialism.  

University Asks People To Put It In Their Wills During Pandemic

                A few days after the University of Mississippi announced that it was transitioning to an online-only class schedule to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, the school sent out an email asking people to consider including the institution in their wills. The email referred to the old expression that “change is the only constant in life,” and specifically cited the “health” and “financial” changes, among others, that many people experience. It then noted: “By adding a bequest in your will, you guarantee that the priorities in your life are matched to your legacy. Also, by expressing the philanthropic priorities of your life, you can continue investing in the students, faculty, mission and values of the University of Mississippi.” I think not, thank you. Our health and finances are changing, rapidly and for the worse.

                The school apparently recognized the horrific timing of the missive, sent out as it was during the COVID-19 global pandemic, and quickly sent out an email reading: “We deeply apologize for a University Development email sent Tuesday morning dealing with estate-planning information. This message was a previously scheduled newsletter focused on providing guidance for planned giving. The delivery of this message at this time was insensitive in the current climate. We have adjusted our communication protocols to align them with the emergency situation facing our university and nation, and we are sorry for the distress that this message caused.”

                I’m sure the school will send out another heart-felt, follow-up email soon, reading: “Again, we are frightfully sorry about the original email asking you to put us in your will. It was clearly in bad taste, considering the global pandemic we are all currently experiencing. We assure you we are not hypocritical, greedy little pointy-headed left-wing monsters bashing capitalism while clamoring for your money. You can be certain it won’t happen again. After all, we are an institution of higher learning and, as such, learn from our mistakes, ha, ha, ha. But, if you happen to be feeling a bit off, maybe a bit feverish or short of breath, we do hope you’ll consider donating whatever you can to the noble cause of a great college such as the University of Mississippi. Whatever you can afford to invest, whether it be $50, $1,000, $10,000, your entire estate, or even an internal organ or two, will be greatly valued. Stay safe. Cordially, University Development.”